The Fairy Tail Shapeshifter
by sparkydragon98
Summary: Sparky Jones went to the top of Spear Pillar to stop Team Galactic. However, after an encounter with Palkia, he finds himself in a new world not like his own. How will he handle this new world? And how will the wizards of Fiore handle this strange new person with even stranger abilities? Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon; they belong to their respective companies.
1. A Whole New World

**Hey, everyone! I'm not dead! Sparky D. here, bringing you the first chapter of a new story! This story starts from the first episode and will continue from there. So here's the first chapter (and episode) of The Fairy Tail Shapeshifter!**

* * *

Chapter 1 – A Whole New World

Everything was happening too fast for Sparky Jones to understand.

One minute, he was atop Spear Pillar battling Team Galactic with six of his strongest partners. His best friend and rival was fighting alongside him. Once they had defeated the Grunts, his friend took on the two Galactic Commanders that were there, Mars and Jupiter.

Sparky, on the other hand, had moved ahead to fight Team Galactic's Boss, Cyrus. Despite having powerful pokemon, Sparky was going toe-to-toe with him and was steadily gaining the upper hand. In desperation, Cyrus played his trump card and used his Red Chain to summon Palkia, and the legendary Water-Dragon type appeared.

However, Palkia had appeared enraged and beyond Cyrus' control. It reared its head back and unleashed a torrent of water that instantly knocked out Cyrus and his pokemon when it hit. The water was headed for Sparky as well, but two of his pokemon, the ones who weren't used in the battle against Cyrus, rushed in front of him and used Protect. The blue shields managed to block Palkia's Hydro Pump but also drew the legendary's attention to them.

Palkia roared before the pearls on its shoulders glowed pink and its eyes glowed orange. It raised its right arm, which was also starting to glow pink, and swung it in an arc. The result was a pink crescent energy wave heading for them; Palkia's signature attack, Spacial Rend.

The legendary's attack pushed against the still-active shields with tremendous force. The two pokemon struggled to hold it back, but eventually they were overwhelmed. The pink wave crashed into the two pokemon before continuing to hit the rest of Sparky's pokemon, and then Sparky himself. Sparky felt a strange sensation in his body, and then everything went black.

* * *

When Sparky regained consciousness, he remembered what was going on. He jumped to his feet, ready to continue battling Palkia, only to realize that the legendary was nowhere in sight. In fact, there wasn't anyone in sight. It didn't look like he was on Spear Pillar anymore.

" _Where the heck am I?_ " Sparky wondered. It was then he noticed train tracks, a foot away from him, leading to a town about a mile away. However, it didn't look like any town he'd seen in Sinnoh, and he didn't recall ever needing to travel by train to get somewhere. Was he still in Sinnoh or had he somehow ended up in another region?

Sparky reached for his belt and pulled out a pokeball containing one of his fliers, intent on releasing them from their ball to help him get to the town quicker. However, nothing came out when he opened the ball. With wide eyes, he brought out the rest of his pokeballs and opened them, only to get the same result: they were all empty. " _Where are all my pokemon?!_ " Sparky thought in utter shock. " _How long was I out?_ " Was it possible that someone found him while he was unconscious and took his pokemon out of their balls? If that were the case, then he would have to hurry and find them before it was too late.

Just then, he heard the sound of a loud engine and turned his head to the left. The trainer spotted a train passing by, heading toward the town. As it passed him, he stared into the windows and caught a glimpse of some of the passengers, but the ones that stood out to him were a pink-haired boy with a blue cat on his shoulder, although the boy looked sick.

" _If someone wanted to get far away fast, a train seems like a good option,_ " Sparky thought. Maybe someone had taken his pokemon and headed into town to get to the train station. Sparky reached into his bag and pulled out his collapsible bicycle, unfolding it to riding mode. He hopped on and started pedaling toward the town with a resolute expression on his face, determined to find his friends and save them.

* * *

Sparky reached the train station just in time to see people starting to board the train. He closed his eyes and activated his aura sense, searching for anyone who seemed suspicious, as well as his pokemons' auras. However, nobody around the station fit the bill, and he felt no familiar auras. Sparky opened his eyes in confusion, then figured that whoever took his pokemon was probably still in town. Just to be safe, though, he hung around the station until the train was ready to depart.

When the train did start moving, Sparky heard someone screaming, "NOO!" and looked toward the source. He saw the pink-haired teen from earlier, who was wearing a red, long-sleeved coat and had a white scarf on around his neck, hanging out of one of the windows with a miserable expression on his face. Once the train was gone, he took notice of the blue cat he'd seen with the boy staring after the train. He could see a green knapsack on its back. Sparky deduced that the cat was the teen's pokemon.

Out of curiosity, he reached into his pocket and was relieved to find that he still had his Pokedex. Sparky pulled it out and pointed it at the cat so that he could scan it. However, he was surprised to learn that the Pokedex didn't recognize the pokemon. Had he somehow ended up in an undiscovered region with brand-new pokemon?

Sparky looked up in time to see wings sprout from the cat's back, under the bag. He watched in shock as the cat took flight, soaring after the train. " _What the heck was that?_ " he wondered. " _Was that some new move?_ " Could there be a new move that allowed pokemon to grow wings and fly? This situation he was in was bringing up more questions, and he wasn't finding any answers.

He decided that he needed to focus on his current task: finding his team. There was no one questionable around, so Sparky went into the town to search for the culprit.

Ten minutes later, the trainer was still walking around the town, on the lookout for anyone who seemed suspect while also going around asking people if they had seen his pokemon. After all, they weren't in their balls, which meant the culprit must have taken them out. People would have to notice them, right?

However, his search was proving fruitless. Every time he asked someone, they would look at him strangely and just walk away, leaving the trainer puzzled. Despite his lack of progress, Sparky refused to give up and continued looking for his friends. He did notice that this town didn't seem as technologically advanced as some of the other towns he'd visited, though he didn't dwell on that.

It was then he noticed that girls were running past him to something up ahead, screaming things like, "Salamander's here!" and "I wanna see Salamander!" Their words confused him. " _Is Salamander the name of a pokemon?_ " Sparky wondered. His curiosity sparked (no pun intended), he moved ahead to see this "Salamander."

Sparky reached the crowd that was forming and made entirely of girls and began making his way to the front. When he reached the front, he saw what had gotten everyone's attention. There was a man with black hair making different poses. He wore a white shirt, red pants, and a purple cape. He also had two rings on the fingers of his right hand. His presence alone seemed to be enough to make the crowd of girls squeal in excitement, and they all had hearts in their eyes.

Sparky, on the other hand, was utterly unimpressed. To him, this Salamander guy just seemed like another one of _those_ trainers: the arrogant kind who cared more about fame and popularity than their own pokemon. He'd met plenty of _those_ types of trainers throughout his journey, and he'd always enjoyed knocking them down a peg. He would've considered battling this Salamander person right then and there, if not for the fact that his pokemon were missing.

"You ladies are all so sweet," Salamander said before turning to look at one of the girls in particular. Sparky followed his gaze and spotted a blonde-haired girl, who also had hearts in her eyes. She was wearing a blue and white shirt, a blue skirt with a brown belt wrapped around it, and black boots. Attached to her belt were a ring of keys and a whip. This was Lucy Heartfilia. The girl was slowly moving toward Salamander when a voice rang out from within the crowd.

"Igneel! Igneel! Igneel, it's me!"

Sparky, Lucy, and Salamander all turned to see the pink-haired teen from earlier, Natsu Dragneel. Now that he was outside the train, Sparky could see that he had on white pants that went to his knees and a black cloth that was trimmed in gold around his waist. At his side was the blue cat, Happy. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd with an ecstatic expression on his face, but upon seeing who everyone was focusing on, his expression changed to confusion and disappointment. His arrival caused the hearts in Lucy's eyes to shatter, revealing her brown irises.

"Who the heck are you?" Natsu questioned Salamander.

"Who am I?!" he repeated, shocked that Natsu didn't know who he was. He regained his composure and said, "I am Salamander! You must've heard of me before, right?" To his dismay, the pink-haired teen started walking away in disinterest. "Hey, wait a minute!"

Sparky couldn't help but laugh at that, but Salamander's fan girls didn't take kindly to the object of their affection being brushed off like that. A few of them pounced on Natsu and began to beat him up.

"You're so rude!" one of them yelled.

"Salamander's a great wizard! You better apologize or we're gonna rip you to shreds!" another girl screamed.

"What is it with you girls?!" Natsu cried out in pain.

"Now, now, that's enough, my lovelies, let him go! I'm sure the poor boy didn't mean anything malicious by it," Salamander said, calming them down right away. Then he turned back to Natsu, pulled out a piece of paper, and signed it with his name. He handed it to the teen. "Here's my autograph, kid. Now you can brag about it to all your friends!"

"No thanks," Natsu declined in annoyance, once again angering Salamander's fan girls. He ended up in a pile of trash, courtesy of them. Happy walked over to the pink-haired teen.

"Guess it wasn't him after all…" the cat said.

"Definitely… not… him," Natsu groaned as he sat up.

"Hey." A new voice caught the two's attention, and they looked to see who was addressing them. Standing in front of them was a teen with blue eyes that seemed to be a year older than Natsu. He had spiky, blonde hair, though he also had several bangs that obscured his forehead. He wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans. He also had on a blue jacket that was currently unzipped and white and blue sneakers. The teen had a brown backpack on his back. He was wearing two bracelets, one on each arm. The left bracelet contained a rainbow-colored stone with a DNA symbol on it. The right bracelet held a blue crystal shaped like a diamond.

The teen was extending his hand out to Natsu, who was still on the ground. "Can I give you a hand?" he asked.

Natsu took it gratefully, and the teen helped him to his feet. "Thanks," he said.

"No problem," the trainer replied. "My name's Sparky Jones!"

"I'm Natsu Dragneel, and this is Happy!" the pink-haired teen introduced.

"Aye!" Happy put in.

"Man, those girls are crazy!" Natsu went on.

Sparky smiled in amusement at his complaint. "You know, I have a friend who feels the same way about crowds. He says they're too suffocating."

"Really? I'd like to meet him," Natsu said.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Yeah…" Sparky smiled sadly and closed his eyes as he began thinking about his friend in question. "I'm sure he would have liked to meet you and your pokemon, too." In fact, the more he thought about him, the more he was sure he could feel him somewhere. Then he felt a strange energy swelling up inside him.

Natsu and Happy shared a confused look. "What do you mean—" However, before Natsu could finish his question, he suddenly felt an increase in Magic power coming from Sparky. Then something odd occurred.

A yellow Magic seal appeared underneath Sparky's feet and started shining intensely. The light was so bright that it not only forced Natsu and Happy to shield their eyes, but it also attracted Salamander's attention, as well as the attention of all of the girls crowding around him. When the light faded, everyone uncovered their eyes and was shocked at what they were seeing.

Standing in Sparky's place was a small, mouse-like creature that was primarily yellow. The only places on his body that weren't yellow were the tips of his long ears, his cheeks, his back, and the base of his tail, which was shaped like a lightning bolt. The tips of his ears were black while each of his cheeks had a red circle on them. The base of his tail was brown, as were the two stripes on his back.

Sparky opened his eyes, then blinked in surprise when he noticed that Happy was now the same height as him and Natsu was taller. He tilted his head in confusion. "Hey, did you guys just get taller?"

The duo's eyes widened and their jaws dropped, further perplexing Sparky. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? And what's up with my voice?" He noted that his voice sounded higher than before.

Natsu pulled himself together and yelled, "What do you mean did we get taller?! You just got shorter! And you turned into some weird mouse-rabbit creature!"

Bewildered by his words, Sparky looked at himself to see what he was talking about, and what he saw left him stunned (again, no pun intended). "What the heck?! I've turned into Pikachu?!"

"What the heck is a Pikachu?" Natsu questioned, still shocked but now curious as well.

Before Sparky could recover enough from his unexpected transformation to answer Natsu's question, he found himself surrounded by the same mob of squealing girls that were previously crowding around Salamander. But now, _he_ was their target. Consequently, the girls pushed Natsu aside so that they could surround the pokemon.

"Hey! Get back! Stop swarming around me! And stop shouting, you're hurting my ears!" he cried indignantly, holding his ears to his head to try to drown out the sound to no avail. Apparently, the girls didn't seem to have heard him because they remained where they were, squealing all the while. "Ugh… no wonder Pikachu hates crowds! How can anyone live with this racket when they're this small and have an excellent sense of hearing?"

"Oh, he's just so adorable!" one of the girls gushed.

"I know, right?!" another one agreed.

"I just wanna pinch his cheeks!" a third one said.

Sparky's look of irritation immediately changed to one of panic. "No! Don't touch his— er— _my_ cheeks!" Unfortunately, the warning came too late as the girl had already reached forward and grabbed one of his cheeks. As a result, Sparky involuntarily unleashed a Thunderbolt that zapped the mob of girls into unconsciousness. His attack caught the eyes of three people and one cat.

Sparky was now standing in the middle of a crowd of knocked-out girls. He sweatdropped nervously and said, "Oops." Not wanting to be around still when the girls woke up, he jumped away from the crowd and sped off, surprising the four who were still conscious with his speed. Within seconds, he was out of sight.

The three people were thinking different things. " _Was that Take Over Magic?_ " Lucy wondered. " _I've never seen anything like that before!_ "

" _What_ was _that weird animal Sparky turned into? How is it able to use lightning attacks? And how is it so fast?_ " Natsu wondered. " _Man, all these questions are making my head hurt!_ " Then his stomach growled. " _Oh yeah, I almost forgot… I'm still hungry!_ "

Meanwhile, Salamander was having his own thoughts. " _That Take Over Magic that boy just used seemed strange, but that little creature's speed and lightning abilities looked intriguing. And who knows what else he has? Having him join my crew would prove beneficial for me,_ " he thought with a nefarious smile.

Just then, all of the girls that had been electrocuted began to regain consciousness. At first, they were confused by the lack of a certain electric mouse, but their attention was quickly reclaimed by Salamander when he raised his right hand. Instantly, hearts filled their eyes as they surrounded him again.

"Well, ladies, it's been fun, but I must be going now. I have business to attend to," he told them.

"You're leaving already?!" the girls yelled.

"Time for the **Red Carpet.** " Salamander snapped his fingers and a red seal appeared before purple fire suddenly shot out from under his feet, acting as a platform. "I'm having a party on my yacht tonight! All of you are invited!" he shouted as he flew off on his fire platform.

While all of the girls cheered, Natsu and Happy only stared in confusion. "Who the heck was that guy?" Natsu inquired.

"I don't know, but he was a real creep," Lucy said as she approached the duo, making them turn to her. She smiled and waved. "Thank you for your help!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Sparky, still in Pikachu's body, was running through town, looking for somewhere he could look at his reflection. He got a lot of surprised looks from many people who managed to catch a glimpse of him, but he was moving too fast for them to get a good look.

Sparky finally made it to a port where lots of boats were parked. He slowed down and moved to the end of the path so that he could peer over the edge into the water. There, he saw a Pikachu looking back at him. "I really have turned into Pikachu," Sparky mumbled.

The teen-turned-pokemon had to admit, despite the completely unforeseen transformation, this didn't feel so bad. It was pretty cool, running as fast as Pikachu could and being able to shoot electricity. " _Is this how Pikachu feels when he's in battle?_ " Sparky wondered.

" _You bet!_ " a voice that Sparky recognized answered cheerfully.

"Whoa!" Sparky shouted in surprise, nearly falling into the water. Luckily, he managed to catch himself before he could fall in. He addressed the voice that just spoke to him. "Pikachu?! Was that you?!"

" _Sure was!_ " the cheerful voice replied.

"But… where are you? It sounds like you're nearby," Sparky inquired.

" _Well… it kind of feels like I'm… inside you,_ " Pikachu responded hesitantly. " _Or… inside me? Man, this is confusing…_ "

"What? Really?" It was safe to say that this information greatly surprised Sparky. "Hang on a second." He closed his eyes and began to focus. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a void, blue light shining all around him. He looked down and saw that he was human again, and standing next to him was the pokemon he had turned into.

"Pikachu!" Sparky exclaimed happily.

" _Sparky!_ " Pikachu shouted with just as much mirth. He jumped into his trainer's arms and nestled into his chest while Sparky hugged his pokemon. After a few seconds, Pikachu hopped back to the ground, allowing Sparky to get a good look at his surroundings.

"So… do you have any idea where this is?" Sparky asked his pokemon.

" _I think this is inside my mind,_ " Pikachu answered, then sweatdropped. " _Or is it our mind now since you turned into me?_ "

Sparky deadpanned. "Uh, I guess we'll have to go with that one. Wow, this _is_ confusing."

" _You got that right,_ " the Electric-type agreed.

"How did this even happen?" Sparky mused.

" _What were you doing before you changed?_ " Pikachu asked.

The teen started to recall the events that led to his sudden transformation. "Well, I had met a boy with pink hair—"

" _Oh yeah, I remember him. Strange hair color for a guy,_ " Pikachu remarked.

"Let's try to keep the interruptions to a minimum," Sparky said before continuing. "Anyway, he told me his name was Natsu, and he introduced his pokemon as Happy. Then he started complaining about the crowd, and I told him about how you don't like crowds."

" _It's true!_ " the mouse interjected. " _They're really annoying!_ "

The teen couldn't help but smile despite the interruption. "Yeah, I understand how you feel now. I had been thinking about you when I felt this strange feeling in my body. It was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. The next thing I knew, I had turned into you. Natsu and Happy were giving me weird looks as if they'd never seen a Pikachu before." Then he thought about it for a moment. "Though, based on their reactions and Natsu's comments, they probably haven't."

" _That reminds me, about his comment…_ " The pokemon's face suddenly became miffed. " _Can I, uh, I mean_ we _, zap him the next time we see him? I did not appreciate being called a weird mouse-rabbit creature!_ "

Sparky chuckled. "Now, now, Pikachu, you can't blame him for not knowing what species you are. As I said, that was probably his first time seeing a Pikachu."

The Electric-type pouted but relented. " _Fine. Getting back on track… you stated that you had been thinking about me specifically when it happened?_ "

Sparky nodded. "Yeah. I had been focusing on you in particular at the time…" Then a figurative light bulb appeared above his head. "I think I have an idea! I'll see you later, Pikachu!"

" _Alright. Good luck, Sparky!_ " Pikachu said.

Sparky closed his eyes and opened them again, coming back to reality. He looked at himself and saw that he was still Pikachu, then looked around to see if anyone noticed him. He noted with relief that no one seemed to be paying attention to him. He also noticed that not much time had passed since he engaged in conversation with Pikachu, only about ten seconds.

Deciding he would be better off safe than sorry, Sparky moved away from the water and ran into a nearby alleyway. Now out of sight, the teen-turned-pokemon began to concentrate intensely. After a few seconds, his body shone with a bright white light. When the light faded, Sparky opened his eyes and looked at himself; he was delighted to see that he was human again.

"Looks like my idea worked!" Sparky said, figuring that since focusing on Pikachu made him turn into him, all he had to do was focus on himself and he would change back. Now that he was human again, he decided that it was safe to go out in public. He stepped out of the alley and started walking down the road, lost in thought.

" _Still, what exactly happened back there? How_ did _I wind up as Pikachu?_ " Sparky pondered. " _Does it have something to do with this strange energy I feel inside my body?_ " The trainer's eyes abruptly widened when that train of thought reminded him of something the Electric-type had said. " _Wait… Pikachu told me that it felt like he was inside me. Could that mean…?_ "

Sparky stopped next to a wall and sat down, entering a meditative position. He closed his eyes and began to focus. It took a couple of minutes, but he finally sensed the auras of his friends. The weirdest thing, however, was that, as Pikachu said, they seemed to be inside him. Sparky opened his eyes and leaned back against the wall with a sigh.

" _So all this time, nobody stole them?_ _They were_ inside _me? How exactly could that have happened?_ " He blinked, then narrowed his eyes in speculation. " _Could Palkia's attack have something to do with this?_ " The teen recalled the odd sensation he felt after he had been hit by the legendary's signature attack. Before he could think about it any further, his thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out to him.

"Hey there! You with the blonde hair!"

Sparky looked to see who was calling him, then frowned in displeasure when he saw who it was. There was a large yacht not far from him, and standing on the deck was none other than Salamander. The man was smiling at him and waving at him to come over, which Sparky eventually did, albeit reluctantly.

"What's your name, kid?" Salamander questioned.

Although Sparky wasn't fond of him, he decided to be polite. "My name is Sparky," he told him.

"Well, Sparky, I saw your performance earlier and wanted to talk about it. Why don't we discuss it aboard my yacht?" Salamander suggested, then walked out of sight. The trainer could tell that he wanted to discuss more than just that, but decided to indulge him. He embarked the yacht, unaware of the events that would soon transpire.

* * *

Now on board the ship, Sparky stared at the man who invited him in the first place. He could sense several auras with them on the ship, and they didn't feel welcoming.

The teen turned his attention back to Salamander when he began speaking. "I must say that I was impressed by the Take Over Magic you displayed. Do you think you could tell me what the creature you turned into is called?"

Sparky had no idea what he meant by "Take Over Magic," so he decided to ignore that for now. He figured, due to Natsu's earlier reaction and Salamander's inquiry, that no one in this region had seen a Pikachu, though he wondered why Salamander referred to Pikachu as a creature instead of a pokemon.

" _Well, he doesn't seem to have any_ pokeballs _on him, and I don't sense any_ pokemon _on the ship, so he must not have any_ pokemon _,_ " Sparky thought. In any case, he gave Salamander an answer. "He's a Pikachu."

"I see," Salamander said. "And where did you learn to use your Magic?"

"Why do you keep saying that? What the heck is Magic?" Sparky questioned.

Salamander went wide-eyed. "You can't be serious! You have to know what Magic is!"

"Nope," the teen said with a shake of his head. "I've got no idea what it is."

"Magic is the energy within us that allows a person certain abilities," the man explained. Then he raised a brow. "Was that the first time you ever used Magic?"

Sparky shrugged. "I guess."

" _He must have never known about Magic until he used it earlier. He probably just unlocked it. In any case, this should make things easier for me,_ " Salamander thought before he spoke. "I believe I can help you, then."

Now it was Sparky's turn to raise a brow. "And how is that?"

"You just need to join a guild and learn more about Magic. And I know just the one," he said. "You've heard of the guild known as Fairy Tail, haven't you?"

It was then that he noticed the blank look on the teen's face. "Nope. Never."

Salamander's eyes widened in deep shock. "You've never heard of the most popular Guild in all of Fiore?!"

" _Fiore? I've heard of that region before. Is that where I ended up?_ " Sparky wondered, then answered the man's question. "I've never heard of guilds in general. Why don't you enlighten me?"

Salamander shot him a suspicious look but proceeded to explain it to him. "Guilds are what we call a group of people who join together to take jobs to help other people or cities take care of problems that they can't handle. The people operate under one person in charge, the Guild Master, in a building. There are many different guilds and kinds of guilds that a person can choose to join, the most common being a wizard guild. The Fairy Tail Guild is the most popular wizard guild in Fiore!" He then struck a pose. "And that just so happens to be the guild I'm from!"

"Oh, really?" Sparky said, sounding captivated; internally, however, he was not. " _If everyone from Fairy Tail acts like him, then I'm not impressed._ "

"That's right!" Salamander said, not realizing that the teen wasn't actually fascinated. "And if you'd like, I can talk to the Master and see if he could let you join the Guild too. I bet he'd be very interested in your Magic. What do you say?" He was expecting him to become starry-eyed and start thanking him repeatedly, saying that it would be an honor to become a member. After all, anyone would be overjoyed to be offered a chance to join Fairy Tail.

So you can imagine his shock when Sparky gave his answer a second later. "No thanks."

Salamander fell over anime-style before hopping back to his feet. "No?!" he shouted in disbelief. "You're turning down an opportunity to join the most popular Guild in all of Fiore?!"

"Yeah; the offer's flattering and all, but I'm not one to remain cooped up in a building for an extended period. As a Trainer, I'm constantly on the move," Sparky informed him. "If I run into people in need of help, then I'll help them, just like I always do." He turned to the exit and began to walk away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way."

" _Darn it! My trick failed! Guess I've got no other choice now._ " Salamander snapped his fingers and Sparky came to an abrupt halt, finding his exit blocked by two big guys with menacing looks on their faces. Around him, more men wearing similar expressions were beginning to close in on him.

Sparky turned back to Salamander and folded his arms. "And just what is this about?" To the man's surprise, the teen didn't look nervous or afraid or even startled. He had a calm look on his face, almost as if he had been expecting this.

Nevertheless, Salamander smirked. "Well, I was hoping to do this without resorting to violence, but it looks like there's no other option now."

The teen raised a brow. "And what is 'this,' exactly?" he inquired.

"Recruiting you for my crew, of course! Now I'm offering you a chance to become one of my men, and I advise you to accept."

"Or else what?" Sparky asked.

"Or else… this!" A red seal appeared in front of Salamander and a whip made of purple fire came out of it, surprising Sparky. The fire whip crashed into his chest and sent him flying into the ship's railing, causing him to fall to one knee.

"I intend to make you one of my men, and I'm not taking no for an answer," the man in charge said. "You don't know how to use your Magic well since you just unlocked it, so you're at my mercy. If only you had fallen for my trick, then you wouldn't have to be going through this. Now as I said before, you would do well to accept my offer. Otherwise, my next attack will be a lot more painful." He thought his threat would make the teen yield, but he was caught off guard when he heard a sound coming from him that shouldn't have been coming from him, considering the situation he was in.

Sparky was chuckling.

Sparky got back to his feet without any problems, unharmed from Salamander's assault. To his shock, the teen was smirking. Then he started speaking. "You know, I knew you were plotting something the minute I stepped onto your ship." The man's eyes widened at that. "I knew that I was surrounded, and I could tell you were lying about being from Fairy Tail. _That's_ why I declined."

Salamander's eyes narrowed. "You impudent brat! If you knew this was a trap, then why did you remain on my ship?"

Sparky's smirk never faltered as he folded his arms again. "I figured that I could handle these guys and whatever else you had in store, and after your surprise attack, I realize now that I was right. I mean, you call that an attack? I've taken way worse hits than that!"

Salamander glowered at him. "Alright, you little smartmouth, have a taste of this! **Prominence Typhoon!** " Another red seal appeared in front of him and a spiral of purple fire was shot at the teen. Immediately, the smirk on Sparky's face dropped as the attack struck its mark, causing smoke to rise. Little embers rained down onto the deck.

All of the men smirked, thinking that Sparky had been taken care of. "You sure showed him, Salamander!" one of them said.

"Yeah, guess he was nothing but talk!" another guy agreed.

"Let's just get this place cleaned up for the party—" Salamander stopped talking when he caught sight of something blue shining through the smoke. Then the smoke cleared fully and he and his henchmen were left in utter shock at the sight before them.

Sparky was seen standing in the same position with the same expression on his face. The only thing different about him now was the azure dome-like shield that he was currently encompassed in.

"What the—"

"What kind of Magic is this?!" one of the men cried fearfully.

Sparky narrowed his eyes. "I may not know anything about this 'Magic' stuff you keep talking about, but that doesn't make me helpless in a fight." He dropped his shield and cracked his knuckles. "You guys just messed with the wrong Aura Guardian."

* * *

5 minutes later, Sparky could be seen walking away from the yacht, having taken care of Salamander and his gang. Now he was walking around town, doing some sightseeing. Once again, he noted that the town didn't seem advanced technologically. " _Are all cities in Fiore like this?_ " Sparky wondered. " _I haven't even seen the Pokemon Center yet._ "

Somewhere nearby, Natsu and Happy were also strolling through town. The duo was perfectly content, thanks to the blonde-haired girl named Lucy treating them to lunch.

"My stomach sure feels full!" the pink-haired teen remarked.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "It was nice of that Lucy girl to pay for our meal. I just wish we could have been more help to her."

"Yeah. It's a shame we don't know much about Sparky since he left before we could learn more about him," Natsu said. "If only we could see him again…" He trailed off when he spotted the subject of their conversation walking ahead of them. Excited, he ran ahead to catch up to him. "Sparky!"

"Hmm?" Sparky turned to see who called his name, and he smiled when he saw it was a friendly face. "Hey, Natsu!"

* * *

Elsewhere in Hargeon, Lucy was sitting on a bench by herself. The blonde was still thinking about what happened earlier with Sparky and the strange creature he had turned into, which was called "Pikachu," according to Natsu. " _I wish I could have asked him._ " She shook her head. "I shouldn't be stressing over that so much. If I see him again, I'll ask him about his Magic."

To take her mind off of the earlier event, Lucy pulled out an issue of Sorcerer Weekly from her bag and began to read about the exploits of her favorite Guild – Fairy Tail.

"Looks like the Fairy Tail Guild is out there causing trouble again. Demon bandit clan wiped out, but seven homes destroyed?" Lucy laughed heartily. "Talk about going overboard!" As she continued flipping through her magazine, she began to ponder out loud on how to become a member of Fairy Tail.

"I wish I knew how to get to be a member. Do you have to apply or maybe interview with them? I don't know." Lucy closed her magazine and spoke with determination. "But I am so going to join Fairy Tail! They're totally the coolest Guild ever!" She started giggling, but stopped when she heard a voice.

"What was that? You want to join Fairy Tail?"

Without warning, a familiar figure popped out of the nearby bushes, startling the blonde. She quickly recognized him. "Salamander!"

"I've been looking everywhere for you, my dear," the man said in an alluring voice. He held up his right hand with a smirk. "I wanted to personally invite you to the party I'm having on my yacht tonight." A glint came from one of the rings, but Lucy was prepared this time.

"Your Charm Spell won't work on me!" she declared. "That Magic's weakness is awareness! It doesn't work if your target knows you're using it!"

Despite being caught in the act, Salamander's demeanor didn't change. "Just as I thought; I guessed you were a wizard the moment I laid eyes on you. No matter, the invitation still stands."

"Well, you can forget it!" Lucy told him, turning around and folding her arms. "I wouldn't be caught dead at a party being thrown by a creep like you!"

"A creep? Why would you call me that?" he asked, sounding hurt.

The blonde turned back to him with a glare. "Your Charm Spell? Using it to make yourself popular?"

"Don't be mad, my dear, it's all in good fun," Salamander said with a wink. "I just wanted to feel like a celebrity at my own party; can you blame me?"

"This just proves that even famous wizards can be big idiots!" Lucy retorted as she began walking away.

Realizing he was about to lose another wizard, Salamander quickly said something that he was sure would get her attention. "You said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail Guild, right?" Fortunately for him, he got the reaction he was hoping for; Lucy stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around to face him with a shocked expression. Seeing that, he went on. "Have you ever heard about Salamander, one of Fairy Tail's wizards?"

"Well, yeah!" she answered, still shocked. "You're telling me you're him, you're _that_ Salamander?!"

"That's correct," the man replied, internally relieved that she seemed to be buying what he was saying. "And if you want to join, I can probably put in a good word for you. What do you say?"

With an opportunity to join her favorite Guild being presented to her, Lucy forgot all about the Charm Spell, consequently falling victim to it. "I would love to go to your party tonight!" she said, leaning closer to Salamander with hearts in her eyes.

"Wow, that was even easier than I thought it would be," he commented. " _Much easier than when I tried to trick that blond-haired brat earlier._ "

Lucy was now staring at him, starry-eyed. "So, you really think you can get me into Fairy Tail?" she asked.

"I don't see why not," Salamander said. Then he remembered something she had said while he was eavesdropping on her, before she spoke about Fairy Tail, and added, "And what's more, I happened to run into that Take Over Mage from earlier. He said his name was Sparky."

The blonde's ecstatic look became one of astonishment. "No way! You actually found him? Uh, hold on…" Lucy suddenly spotted something she hadn't seen before, mainly because she was farther away from him and he wasn't facing her fully, but now that he was and she was up close, she could see there was a bruise on his left cheek. "What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight or something?"

"Oh, just a little scuffle! Nothing major!" Salamander replied, waving his hands frantically. He had no intention of telling her what had actually transpired not long ago. "Anyway, I gave him the same offer I gave you, and he readily accepted. He'll be at the party, too, so you'll be able to talk to him there." He knew she was definitely going to show up already, but it didn't hurt to ensure that she would be there.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Lucy exclaimed.

"But remember, you can't say anything about the Charm Spell," he told her.

"I won't say a word!"

"Good; then I'll see you at the party tonight!" Salamander activated his Red Carpet spell and flew off, satisfied that things went smoothly this time around.

"You got it, Mr. Salamander, sir!" Lucy called out to him as he flew out of sight. She remained in her lovestruck state for a few more seconds before swiftly snapping out of it.

"He got me! I was pseudo-charmed!" she growled. She quickly calmed down, then jumped with joy. "But at least I'm gonna get to join Fairy Tail! I just have to keep my mouth shut and try to be nice to that sleazebag until then! And as a bonus, I'll finally be able to ask that Sparky guy what I want to know! I better get ready for the party." As Lucy walked off to prepare for what was coming, she had no way of knowing that tonight would be eventful, but not in the way she was expecting.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sparky, Natsu, and Happy relocated to another part of the town that was at a higher elevation than where they were before. Their new location had a stone railing and overlooked the whole town. The two teens were leaning against the railing while the cat was sitting on it.

Natsu was the first to start talking. "So Sparky, why'd you run off earlier? And how did you do what you did, with the electricity?"

Sparky looked at his pink-haired friend. "I told you, Pikachu doesn't like crowds. As for your second question, Pikachu is an Electric-type. That means he can attack with Electric-type moves, like the Thunderbolt you witnessed earlier."

Natsu didn't understand what he meant by "type," but decided to ask about it later. "What kind of animal is Picklechu?" he inquired. "I've never seen one before."

Sparky was about to correct him, but Happy beat him to it. "Natsu, he said his name is Pikachu."

"That's right, Happy," Sparky confirmed before he abruptly froze. He remained that way for a few seconds, processing what he just heard, before he whirled around to face the cat and pointed at him. "You can talk?!"

"Of course I can talk," Happy said, not understanding what the big deal was. "Didn't you hear me speaking earlier?"

"I did hear you, but all you said was 'aye' so I thought that had something to do with your name!" the blond-haired teen exclaimed. "Wow, talking pokemon are extremely rare! You're so lucky, Natsu!" He was too excited to notice the baffled look on Natsu's face as he turned back to the puzzled cat. "My Pokedex was unable to scan you, but since you can talk, that means you can tell me your species!"

"My species…?" Happy repeated in bewilderment. "I'm a cat."

"Huh? No, that's the kind of animal you are; I want to know your species," Sparky told him. "You know, like how Pikachu has been classified as the Mouse Pokemon, but his species name is Pikachu."

"Sparky." The aforementioned teen turned back to Natsu. "That's something we wanted to ask you. Exactly what is a pokemon?"

Sparky stared at him in disbelief. "How can you ask that? Haven't you heard of pokemon before?"

"Can't say that I have," the pink-haired teen answered.

"Aye. Me neither," Happy agreed.

Sparky frowned as he looked at Happy again. "So, if you guys have never heard of pokemon, and my Pokedex wasn't able to scan you…" He furrowed his brow. "… does that mean you really aren't a pokemon?"

"Of course I'm not! I'm pretty sure I'd know if I were," the cat responded.

"But that can't be! If you're just a cat, then how can you talk… AND FLY?!" he cried, comically shouting the last two words.

"I hatched with the ability to talk, and I use a type of Magic called Aera Magic to fly," Happy explained.

" _Again with this Magic stuff?_ " Sparky thought. "You hatched? Like, from an egg? I've never heard of a creature that isn't a pokemon hatching from an egg."

"Well, we've never heard of pokemon," Natsu said. "You can ask around, but I doubt you'll find anyone who has."

Sparky looked down in contemplation, remembering all the people he had asked that just looked at him funny and walked away. "So there aren't any pokemon in this region?"

Natsu and Happy glanced at each other before facing the blond-haired teen with perplexed expressions. The former spoke up. "What do you mean by 'region'?"

Sparky jerked when he heard the question and whirled around to face him. "Isn't this region known as Fiore?"

Happy spoke up this time. "Yeah, we are in Fiore, but this is the _Kingdom_ of Fiore."

"So, does this place not go by region like Kalos or Alola, for example?" Sparky asked. An uneasy feeling began to form in his stomach when the pair looked even more confused.

"What are Kalos and Alola?" Natsu questioned.

The blond-haired teen was starting to get worried. "They're two of the more popular regions in the world! Surely you have to know about the other regions!"

"Are you talking about the other Kingdoms besides Fiore? Because there aren't any places on Earthland called regions, and we've never heard of any places known as Kalos or Alola," Happy said.

Sparky was about to reply, but then he froze. "Did you just say Earth _land_?"

"Yeah; that's the name of the planet," Natsu replied. "How come you don't know this stuff?"

However, the trainer wasn't listening anymore. "What's going on here?" he muttered to himself. "Guilds, Magic, Kingdoms, talking animals… No one has heard of pokemon or any of the other regions… This place doesn't seem technologically advanced…" He looked over the whole town from his position, but even from here, he could see no distinct red roof. "There doesn't seem to be a Pokemon Center in this town…"

Through all of his mumbling, Natsu and Happy stared at him with mystified expressions. "Uh, what's a Pokemon Center?" the cat asked.

Sparky didn't visibly react to his question, but he did hear him, and it was all the confirmation he needed that there wasn't a Center in this town. "And I'm on a planet called Earthland. Just what is happening here?" he pondered. Then his thoughts drifted to what he had been thinking about before his confrontation with Salamander. "Wait… my battle with Palkia…"

"What's a Palkia?" the pink-haired teen tried this time, but once again, the question went unanswered as Sparky seemed to be in his own little world.

"Palkia is the ruler of space, and the attack he hit me and my team with was his signature move. Then I ended up here," Sparky said to himself, starting to piece things together.

"Sparky? Why are you saying weird things that we don't understand?" Happy questioned. The two started when the blond-haired teen sharply turned to face them.

"I think I've figured it out!" he exclaimed, completely serious. "Either the people in Fiore live _extremely_ sheltered lives, which I doubt is the case… or I've ended up in an entirely different dimension!"

While Natsu's expression remained unchanged, except for possibly becoming even more confused, Happy seemed to understand what he had said, and he was dumbfounded. "WHAT?! No way!"

"So that means what now?" Natsu asked.

Sparky turned to him with slight exasperation. "It means I'm not from this world, Natsu! I'm from a planet called Earth."

Natsu's eyes bugged out. "You mean you're an alien?!"

Sparky facepalmed. "No! As you can clearly see, I'm human, just like you! How do I explain this?" Sparky thought to himself for a few seconds before getting an idea. "Oh, I know! Think of Earth as an alternate version of Earthland, where Magic doesn't exist and creatures known as pokemon roam the planet."

The pink-haired teen seemed to understand his explanation. "Ohhh…" Then he picked up on something the trainer had said and his eyes widened again. "Wait, Magic doesn't exist there?! But you can use Magic!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised at that, too," Sparky admitted. "I've never been able to use Magic until I ended up in Fiore. It might be a side effect to being sent here."

"Who did you say sent you here?" Natsu inquired.

"Palkia is the one responsible," Sparky informed them, then went on to elaborate since he knew that the pair from Earthland wouldn't understand. "Palkia is a Legendary Pokemon. Legendary Pokemon hold a lot more power than common pokemon. Palkia is the Legendary that has control over space."

"He sounds pretty powerful," Happy commented.

"Oh, he is, especially with his typing."

The two grew puzzled again. "Typing? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh right, let me explain that. There are hundreds of pokemon in my world—" Sparky began but was interrupted by the astounded duo.

"There are that many?!" they yelled in unison.

"That's right," the trainer confirmed. "One of the methods that are used to categorize them all is type. There are 18 pokemon types, and every single pokemon is given at least one, an example being Pikachu, who is an Electric-type."

Happy caught on to something the teen had said. "At least one?"

"There are also pokemon that have two types, known as dual-type pokemon," Sparky explained. "All types have their weaknesses and resistances. When a pokemon has two types, the strengths and weaknesses are considered for each type separately in order to determine the pokemon's strong and weak points." He noticed that the pair seemed slightly overwhelmed. "I know this is a lot to take in for someone learning about this for the first time, like it was for me, but you'll get it eventually."

"O-kay…" Natsu said. "So what's Pillkia's type?"

" _Palkia_ is a dual-type, a Water/Dragon type." Upon hearing that, Natsu's eyes bugged out again and his jaw dropped. Happy didn't fare any better; he looked just as stunned as the pink-haired teen. "Is something wrong?" Sparky asked, as their reactions left him mystified.

"You were battling a dragon?!" Natsu shouted in astonishment.

Sparky took a step back, startled, before answering. "Well yeah, Palkia is a dragon. What's the big deal?"

"Here on Earthland, Dragons are extremely rare and hardly ever seen by people," Happy elucidated. "Natsu was actually raised by one! His name is Igneel."

Sparky's eyes widened. "You were raised by an actual Dragon?" He grinned widely, catching Natsu and Happy by surprise. "That's awesome!"

"You actually believe that?" Natsu questioned.

Sparky blinked in confusion. "Yeah. Are you lying?"

The pink-haired teen shook his head. "No, I'm not! It's just that usually whenever I tell people that, they don't believe me right off the bat."

Sparky smiled. "Natsu, I've seen and heard plenty of crazy things throughout my years of traveling. Somehow, I doubt the craziness will cease, even on a different world."

His statement made them curious. "Can you tell us more about your world?" the cat asked inquisitively.

His smile grew a bit wider. "Sure." The trainer proceeded to inform the duo from Earthland about many different things. He told them the rest of the 18 pokemon types. Natsu and Happy seemed incredibly amazed to learn that Dragon was one of them, though they grew excited when they heard that Fire and Flying were pokemon types, respectively.

The two, especially Natsu, were keen to learn more about dragons from his world, so he filled them in on some of the various kinds of dragons there were: lightning dragons, fire dragons (which appeared to delight Natsu), psychic dragons, water dragons, and more. Natsu looked elated to hear about all the different kinds of dragons, though, for reasons unknown to Sparky, his mood deflated slightly when he learned that there was an ice dragon.

After that, Sparky told the two about his occupation as a Pokemon Trainer. He explained that trainers were people who traveled around the world, catching pokemon in the wild to raise and train. Trainers were allowed to have up to six pokemon with them at a time. When two trainers meet, they have a Pokemon Battle, where they each send out a pokemon so that they could fight each other. He apprised them about the different styles of battle, the most common form being Single Battle. Natsu looked exhilarated upon hearing about the battles and wanted to learn more about them, but Sparky was curious about Earthland and wanted to know more about the planet he had ended up on, so the duo from Earthland began to share some details about the planet.

The first thing they addressed was the decrease in technology compared to Earth. Many of the things that could be found on Sparky's home planet were absent on Earthland, such as TVs, phones, computers, and, most notably, Pokemon Centers. Sparky noted that there was still transportation though, something Earth also had, as he had seen a train and boats. Naturally, the mere mention of transportation made Natsu feel queasy while his face turned green, both actions perplexing the trainer. Happy clarified that the kind of Magic Natsu used gave him extreme motion sickness.

With that brought up, they moved on to the topic of Magic. The duo informed Sparky that there were many different kinds of Magic, even more than there were pokemon types (which intrigued him), and that people who could use Magic were known as wizards. Natsu revealed that he was a wizard and that he used a type of Magic called Dragon Slayer Magic. He elaborated that he was a Fire Dragon Slayer, then demonstrated his Magic by igniting his fist, causing Sparky's eyes to widen in amazement. The trainer compared Natsu's attack to a pokemon move that he voiced was simply called Fire Punch.

The three conversed for hours as the sky changed color from blue to black. In the distance, boats were entering and leaving the docks. Shortly after night fell, one particular ship set sail, cruising through the water at a leisurely pace.

Happy was the first to notice it. "Hey, isn't that the boat where that Salamander guy is supposed to be hosting his party?"

Sparky squinted as he gazed at the yacht. "Yep, that's it."

Natsu took one glance and immediately turned away, suddenly feeling the urge to throw up. "Ugh, I'm gonna hurl…"

Sparky looked surprised. "Now? We're not even on the ship."

"That's Natsu for ya," the cat said before cheerfully adding, "Don't worry, Natsu, it's not like we have to go aboard ourselves!" Then the three's conversation was interrupted when they overheard a trio of girls talking nearby.

"That's Salamander's yacht!" the first girl exclaimed.

"I wish I could have gone to his party!" said the second girl.

"Who's Salamander?" the third girl asked.

"You've never heard of him? He's a super famous wizard who's in town right now!" the first girl gushed.

"Yeah, and he's a member of Fairy Tail," the second girl added. Upon hearing the last statement, both teens' eyes narrowed.

"Fairy Tail…" Natsu muttered.

"So I'm not the only one he tried to sell that to," Sparky remarked.

"You mean he told you he was from Fairy Tail?" Happy inquired.

"Yeah, he tried to invite me to join, but I knew he was lying," Sparky answered. "Then he tried to attack me, so I beat him up." He shrugged. "No big deal."

"Wow! You must be really strong," Happy said. The trainer just shrugged again in response.

"Happy." The two turned to Natsu, who had a serious expression on his face. "Take me to that boat."

Sparky stared at him in bewilderment. "You actually want to go _to_ the ship? What about your motion sickness?"

Once again, the pink-haired teen covered his mouth as his cheeks puffed out, looking ready to puke. "Don't remind me." His expression became stern again. "But I gotta teach this punk not to mess with Fairy Tail. Come on, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" the cat responded as he sprouted his wings. He picked Natsu up by his scarf and started flying toward the yacht as Sparky watched on.

" _He seems to be taking this a bit personally. I wonder…_ " He shook his head and said, "I should go help him. If Natsu's motion sickness is as bad as Happy described, then he'll be in trouble if he has to fight. But…" Sparky observed the boat in the distance, far away from where he was standing. The Dragon Slayer and the flying cat were already about a third of the way to their destination. "… how am I gonna catch up to those two?"

" _My pokemon_ _could get me there quickly, but like that Salamander guy said, I don't really know how to use my Magic,_ " Sparky thought. " _Maybe I should try doing what I did earlier._ " With that thought, the trainer concentrated on one of his pokemon's auras and began to focus on the energy in his body. It took a few seconds, but a seal appeared underneath his feet, this one being blue along the outer edge and black closer to the center. The seal flashed a bright light, bathing Sparky in it.

When it faded a few seconds later, a pokemon was standing in the teen's place. The new pokemon was a large, bipedal, dark blue frog. His chest was cream in color, and the color spread to the lower half of his face. He had white bubbles on his knees and elbows and a light blue star that looked like a shuriken on the upper part of each thigh. The frog had white spots over his red eyes, though at the moment they looked like slits, and cream-colored ears. He also had a dark blue stripe running down the middle of his head with two light blue stripes in between the dark blue one and his ears. A long, pink tongue wrapped around his mouth and neck and extended outward behind his head, resembling a scarf.

Sparky closed his eyes and opened them again. Just like before, he found himself in a blue void; he was human again and standing next to the pokemon he had become. He turned to face him with a grin.

"Greninja, good to see you again!" the teen said.

Greninja turned to his trainer and said nothing for a few seconds, but then he smiled under his tongue. " _Good to see you, too, Sparky,_ " he replied.

"Alright Greninja, we've got work to do. We have to get to that boat—" Sparky began but was cut off by the Water-type.

" _To help your new friend,_ " he finished. He saw Sparky's questioning look. " _Surprisingly, being inside you is a lot like being inside my pokeball_ _, only now it's like seeing things through your eyes._ "

Sparky grinned. "Well, then I guess there isn't much to say. Let's go!" His pokemon nodded in agreement as Sparky came back to reality. He saw that Natsu and Happy were now halfway to the ship, so he decided to catch up to them. With a quick leap, he jumped over the railing and began to run through the town, heading for the yacht.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the yacht, Lucy was sitting by herself, still waiting for a particular party guest to arrive. She had on a wine-colored dress with matching colored heels. The ship had already set sail, so the blonde figured that he must have a Take Over that could fly or swim.

Salamander walked over and took a seat across from her, holding a bottle of wine. "So how are you enjoying the party tonight?" he asked.

"Oh, it's fine; it's just that…" She glanced around the deck, still not seeing the familiar head of spiky, blond hair. "I thought Sparky would've been here by now."

"I'm sure he's just running late!" Salamander assured her as he poured wine into two glasses, though he seemed worried. He quickly changed the subject. "Your name's Lucy, right? It's a wonderful name."

"Yeah, thanks…"

He set the bottle down. "I'd like to toast to your beauty." He snapped his fingers and a few drops of wine floated out of the glass. "Now open wide. Savor the taste of each drop as it goes into your mouth."

"Creepy!" Lucy shouted. She sat with her eyes closed, thinking, " _I am strong. I can get through this!_ " Before the drops could enter her mouth, however, her eyes snapped open as she sensed the Magic in them, and she swatted the drops away. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, staring at Salamander's surprised face. "I know what you're up to; you're trying to use Sleep Magic."

Upon hearing her accusation, he smirked. "Very impressive, my dear."

"Look, I don't want to give you the wrong idea," Lucy said. "I do want to join Fairy Tail, but I won't go out with you to make it happen."

"You're quite a handful," Salamander commented.

Just then, the curtains on the ship were moved aside to reveal Salamander's henchmen, all of whom were carrying unconscious party guests. All of the girls had fallen victim to the Sleep Magic and were now in a deep slumber.

Lucy gasped at the sight around her. "What's going on here?" she questioned with a nervous edge to her voice.

Salamander's smirk was still on his face. "Welcome to my ship. You would do well to behave yourself till we make it to Bosco." He grinned maliciously. "Don't make me angry!"

"We're going to Bosco?!" the blonde yelled. Before she could make any further outbursts, though, she noticed that many of the henchmen had visible bruises on their bodies. "Did everyone here get into a fight?" she inquired.

Upon remembering how they got their bruises, then men's expressions became fearful. "T-That kid… he was just so fast!" one of them cried.

"And so strong! He took us all out without much trouble!" another one added.

"You mean one person did this to all of you?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It was that brat, Sparky," Salamander begrudgingly admitted. "I invited him to join Fairy Tail just as I did for you, but he somehow saw through my trick, and he didn't take kindly to being attacked."

"Sparky did this to all of you?" Then all of what he said registered in her head. "Hold on, you were lying about being from Fairy Tail?!" she shouted in outrage.

Salamander's smirk returned to his face. "Of course! I told you I'd get you in to lure you onto my ship and make you one of my slaves!"

Lucy looked around in anger. "You're just gonna kidnap all of these girls?!"

The scared looks on the men's faces were replaced by their original menacing expressions. "That's our Salamander!" one of the men said.

"We got a big haul this time!" another one commented nefariously.

This served to enrage Lucy further. "Why you—" She pulled out her ring of Keys, preparing to summon one of her Spirits to help her. Unfortunately, Salamander saw what she was about to do and reacted quicker. With a swift fire whip, he smacked the key ring out of her hand. He grabbed the ring out of the air and took a good look at the contents.

"These are Gate Keys," he observed. "So you're a Celestial wizard. Only the wizard who made a contract with these Spirits can use these Keys, which means these are useless to me. Whoops!" He tossed the Keys off the ship.

Angry tears filled the blonde's eyes as she glared at Salamander. All around her, girls slept, totally oblivious to what was going on. She was the only one awake, and now she was completely at his mercy now that her only means of fighting had been thrown away. "You used Magic to take advantage of others. You're the worst wizard alive!"

Two of the men moved forward to apprehend the Celestial Mage, but before they could, the roof suddenly burst open. A figure crashed onto the ground, smashing some of the wooden flooring. All eyes were on the newcomer, who was quickly revealed to be Natsu, and they could see from the look on his face that he was more than a little ticked off.

Lucy smiled as her tears dried. "Hey, I remember you!"

However, the expression on Natsu's face didn't remain there for long, as the rocking of the boat quickly got to him. He covered his mouth with his hand, resisting the urge to vomit. "I knew this was a bad idea," he moaned while everyone just gawked at him.

"You are so lame!" Lucy yelled.

"Hey, Lucy! What are you doing here?" the aforementioned blonde looked up to see Happy floating above her, just outside the hole Natsu made.

"Oh, Happy! This jerk tricked me! He told me he'd get me into Fairy Tail!" It was then she realized he was flying. "Wait a second, since when did you have wings?"

"I'll explain that later. Hold on!" he said, wrapping his tail around her waist and flying off with her.

Salamander and his men watched the whole scene in a daze, and it wasn't until Happy took off with Lucy that the fire wizard snapped out of it. "Stop them!" he ordered. "We can't let them report this to the Magic Council!"

"What about Natsu?" Lucy questioned.

"I can't carry two people," Happy replied. "Besides, we have more help on the way!"

On the boat, a red seal appeared in front of Salamander as he readied a spell. " **Prominence Whip!** " From the seal, multiple streams of fire went sailing toward the two in the air. Happy began to swerve in midair, maneuvering around to avoid them while Lucy screamed in terror. "That cat is quicker than he looks." Five streams were heading their way, but their path was abruptly blocked by a huge pillar of water rising from the ocean. "What?!"

"Whoa! How did that just happen?" Lucy asked in shock as the water receded.

"I don't know," Happy answered, having seen the water as well. "But if I had to guess, it might be another one of Sparky's pokemon."

"You mean Sparky's with you?!" Lucy exclaimed, astounded.

"Yeah; we met up with him after that big lunch, but I'll fill you in on that later," the cat told her as he continued flying to the port.

Back on the boat, Salamander and his men were stunned at what they just witnessed. "What just happened?" the leader questioned.

"That was my doing." The sudden voice made everyone whirl around to face the speaker. They all saw Greninja standing a few feet away from them.

"What the heck is that?!" one of the men shouted.

Sparky just stared at them, his eyes still looking like slits. "I am Greninja."

Salamander narrowed his eyes. "I bet this is another one of that brat's Take Overs. Stay on guard, men!" Sparky's blank gaze didn't change at his words.

"Yes, sir!" the men responded.

However, everyone's attention was drawn away from the pokemon when Natsu joined them on the deck. He was panting heavily and sweating profusely. It seemed to take a gargantuan amount of effort just for him to stand. He spotted Greninja a few feet away and asked, "Sparky, is that you?"

The pokemon nodded. "Indeed." Then he raised a brow. "I must say, I wasn't expecting your motion sickness to be this bad. It seems I'll be doing most of the fighting." He turned back to the henchmen. " **Aerial Ace!** " With blinding speed and glowing white limbs, he disappeared and reappeared in front of two of the men and attacked with a flurry of blows before jumping back. After a few seconds, the two men slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer blinked in surprise. "Whoa! I couldn't keep up with that speed!" The boat rocked again, causing his motion sickness to flare up again.

Greninja paid him no mind as he stared at the shocked faces of the men. "So…" he said, entering a fighting stance. "…who wants to go next?"

* * *

Lucy and Happy were now about halfway to the port. "How are we gonna save Natsu and the other girls?" the blonde inquired.

"Actually, Lucy, we've got another problem," Happy responded.

"What do you mean? What's the problem?"

Lucy's question was answered when Happy's wings suddenly disappeared. "My transformation is up!"

"DUMB CAT!" Lucy yelled as the two went plummeting into the ocean.

Sparky had taken out most of the henchmen when he heard the Celestial Mage's scream and caught sight of Lucy and Happy falling toward the ocean. He looked back to the remaining men and, seeing their numbers were low, turned to Natsu. "Natsu, Happy's falling toward the ocean with the girl he grabbed. I'm going to go help them. Do you think you can handle yourself here?"

"T-Totally," Natsu strained to get out while giving him a weak thumbs-up.

Sparky stared at him for a moment before jumping off the boat and running on top of the water as fast as a ninja. With his speed, Sparky reached the resurfacing duo in less than a minute.

Lucy gasped when she saw him. "Are you Sparky?" she asked.

He nodded in response. "I am, though this pokemon's name is Greninja."

"Huh? Pokemon?"

"I'll explain that later," Sparky said, looking back at the yacht. "We need to find a way to stop that ship."

"If only I had my Gate Keys, I know who could help," Lucy said. "But they were thrown off the ship. They could be anywhere!"

Greninja blinked. "By Gate Keys, do you mean these?" He reached under his tongue and pulled out her key ring, eliciting another gasp from the blonde. "I saw these fall into the ocean, so I went and retrieved them," he explained.

"Thank you so much!" Lucy exclaimed happily, taking her Keys from him. She faced the boat with a determined expression as she picked a gold Key. "Here we go." The key spun in place before Lucy clutched it. " **Open: Gate of the Water Bearer – Aquarius!** " she called out as she stuck the Key into the water. A light blue seal appeared, and a twister of water emerged from it. When the water died down, everyone saw a mermaid holding an urn. The mermaid had light blue hair, blue eyes, and a blue tail.

"A fish!" Happy yelled excitedly, drooling.

"Not for you!" Lucy shouted.

"That was awesome!" Happy complimented.

Sparky's eyes showed some surprise. "I must admit, that was quite impressive."

"That's the power of a Celestial wizard," Lucy explained proudly. "Whenever I use my Gate Keys, I can summon Spirits from another world to help me." Now addressing Aquarius, the blonde pointed to the yacht. "Listen up, Aquarius! I want you to use your power to push that ship back into the port!"

However, instead of doing what she was told, the mermaid just scoffed, angering her owner.

"You're supposed to come from the Spirit World to help, not to give me attitude!" Lucy yelled in irritation.

"I don't think you should make her any angrier than she already is!" Happy said nervously.

"Let's get something straight," Aquarius spoke. "The next time you so much as think about dropping my Key, you're dead."

The glare she sent their way scared both Lucy and Happy, and from her tone, she didn't seem to be joking. "It won't happen again!" they said in unison.

Sparky just blinked. " _Is she actually threatening her summoner? She can't actually be serious, right?_ "

Water swirled into the Spirit's urn in currents. Once it stopped, the inside glowed for a brief second and Aquarius swung it in an arc with a scream, unleashing a torrent of water that created a giant wave.

Greninja's eyes widened as the wave came their way. " _Oh boy!_ " Without a moment to lose, he grabbed Lucy and Happy by the arm and tail, respectively, before sprinting away from Aquarius' attack. The wave pushed the boat back to the port, startling everyone onboard. Despite running as fast as he could, the wave still caught up to the Water-type when he was close to the shore, sending all three of them flying.

The Ninja Pokemon easily regained his balance in midair, softly landing on his feet. Lucy and Happy weren't as lucky as the former landed on her stomach while the latter ended up getting his head stuck in the sand. As Aquarius floated over to them, the blonde rose to her knees and glared at her Spirit. "What was that for? You think you could've tried to not get me along with the ship?!"

"Well, I hadn't been trying to hit the ship," Aquarius told her.

"Wait, so you were aiming for me?!" Lucy screeched.

Aquarius just shrugged carelessly. "I guess you should count yourself lucky that you had that weird frog creature over there to help you."

"I'm a Greninja," said frog spoke up.

The mermaid ignored him as she turned her back to all of them. "Don't call me for some time. I'm going on a weeklong vacation with my boyfriend." She turned back to smirk at her fuming owner. "And he's hot."

"You don't have to rub it in!" Lucy yelled with a tick mark over her head as the Spirit vanished.

Happy finally managed to pull his head out of the sand. "I know! If the fish lady gives you any more trouble, just call me to come take care of it!"

"I don't think I can take much more of this stupid cat!" Lucy complained. Sparky just stared at her with some sympathy.

Meanwhile, the boat wasn't too far away from them. It was currently on its side, with no plans of getting back into the water anytime soon. A crowd of people had formed around it.

"What happened?"

"That ship was thrown into the port!"

Salamander and his crew made their way off the yacht, though some of the men were injured from the crash while others were unconscious. "That hurt…" Salamander said in slight pain. He looked up at the top of his yacht where Natsu was now standing, no longer motion sick.

"Natsu!" Lucy called as she, Happy, and Sparky ran toward the boat. As she and the cat stayed back, the pokemon continued on his course, and with one huge leap, he landed next to the Dragon Slayer.

"You feeling better, Natsu?" he asked.

Natsu answered his question by nodding, though he wasn't looking at him. His attention was on the fire wizard below, and he began to speak. "So, you claim to be a member of the Fairy Tail Guild."

Salamander seemed uneasy as he responded, probably because he knew the one next to Natsu knew the truth. "Yeah, what's it to you? Go get him, men!"

"Sir!"

"Let me get a closer look at your face," Natsu said, his glare never leaving his face as he removed the red coat he was wearing.

Two of Salamander's men charged at the pink-haired teen. "Watch out!" Lucy cried out in warning.

"Don't worry about him," Happy told her, sitting on her shoulder and holding a fish. "I probably should've mentioned this earlier, but he's a wizard, too!" He bit into the fish, unfazed by the Celestial Mage's shock.

The men closed in on Natsu, but he easily dispatched them by smacking them away. His glower became even more intense. "My name is Natsu! I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, and I've never seen you before!"

Both Salamander and Lucy were shocked to hear that; even Sparky looked surprised. " _So my suspicions were correct. He_ is _from Fairy Tail,_ " Sparky thought.

"You gotta be kidding! Natsu's from Fairy Tail?" the blonde exclaimed.

Underneath the red coat, Natsu had on a gold trimmed, black waistcoat that was left open, showing off his bare chest. The coat was sleeveless, so everyone had a clear view of the red mark on his right shoulder.

"That mark on his arm…! This guy's the real deal, Bora!" one of the men shouted fearfully.

"Don't call me that, you fool!" Salamander, now revealed as Bora, yelled hastily.

Greninja raised a brow. "This guy's real name is Bora?"

Happy frowned. "I've heard of him before. That's Bora the Prominence. There are rumors that he was kicked out of the Titan Nose Guild a couple of years ago because of bad behavior."

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, buddy, and I don't care if you're a good guy, bad guy, or what," the Dragon Slayer proclaimed, stepping forward. "I'm not gonna let you dirty the Fairy Tail Guild's name!"

Sparky stepped forward with him. "You will not get away with your actions," he said.

"Oh? And are you two going to stop me?" Bora questioned rhetorically. He made another seal. " **Prominence Typhoon!** " Out of the seal came a spiral of purple fire. The two being targeted made no attempt to evade the oncoming attack as it swallowed them up, setting the surrounding area on fire.

"Natsu! Sparky!" Lucy screamed in worry. She started to move forward, but Happy blocked her path with his wings. She stared at him in confusion, taking note of the stern look on his face, before gazing at the boat.

The girls that had been afflicted by Bora's Sleep Magic had awakened and were fleeing the scene, screaming in fright. Bora looked into the inferno, thinking he had taken the pair out. "That's the way it goes; the bigger the talk, the weaker the man," he said arrogantly. He turned to walk away, but stopped when he heard Natsu's voice.

"This is so gross!" Natsu's silhouette could be seen through the fire, which he was standing in, unharmed. "Are you sure you're really a fire wizard? Because these are the nastiest flames I've ever tasted!" To everyone's shock, save Happy, the flames were being sucked into the pink-haired teen's mouth. Once he was finished, he let out a sigh before smirking. "Thanks for the grub, poser."

"What's going on?! Who the heck is this guy?!" one of the men cried out in terror.

"Fire Magic doesn't work on Natsu," Happy revealed.

"I've never seen anything like this," Lucy admitted, surprised. She shifted her attention to where Sparky had been standing. "But what about…?"

Natsu glanced over at Sparky. "Hey Sparky, you okay—" This time, even Natsu and Happy were shocked when they saw that in the pokemon's place was a burnt log.

"What the—" Lucy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Did getting hit by fire turn Sparky into a log?" Happy shouted in astonishment.

Natsu picked up the log he thought was his friend. "Aw, crap! Sparky! Are you okay?!" he asked frantically. Unbeknownst to him, the Water-type suddenly landed on the ground behind him without a sound, startling everyone.

"Natsu…" he said, trying to get his attention.

The Dragon Slayer heard him, but didn't realize his voice was coming from behind him. "Sparky! Hang in there!"

"Natsu…"

"Don't worry! We'll find a way to fix this!"

Natsu heard a sigh. "Look behind you."

He did what Sparky's voice said and was surprised to see his friend standing there with an unamused expression on his face. "Sparky! You're not a log?!" he exclaimed.

Greninja deadpanned. "Of course not. I merely jumped out of the attack's range and left a **Substitute** to take the hit for me."

Natsu looked puzzled. "You did what?"

Sparky sighed again. "I jumped really high and left something behind in my place," he simplified so that Natsu would understand, which he did. He faced Bora and his crew, all of who were still staring at them in fear. "Now, I believe we have business that we need to take care of."

The Dragon Slayer caught on quickly as he glared at the group again. "You got that right. I've got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out!" He slammed his fists together, causing a red-orange seal to appear, and took a stance. His cheeks began to puff up. " **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " Natsu put his hands in front of his mouth and breathed out a stream of fire.

The pokemon brought his webbed hands together and formed a shining blue orb of water in between them. "How about I cool you off! **Hydro Cannon!** " An intense torrent of water was fired from the orb, traveling alongside the fire attack. The two attacks hit their mark, causing a massive explosion that left the whole port in ruins.

Once the smoke cleared, it was shown that all of the henchmen were either charred or drenched, and nearly everyone was unconscious. Bora was the only one who came out unscathed, as he used his Red Carpet spell to evade the double assault.

"Hey, Bora… I think I've seen this kid before," one of the men spoke up, referring to Natsu. "The pink hair and the scarf that looks like scales… There's no doubt about it; he's got to be the real one."

Lucy gasped in realization. "Salamander?!"

Sparky's eyes narrowed. " _So this whole time, he's been impersonating Natsu? How foolish of him, pretending to be someone he isn't,_ " he thought.

Natsu's fist became engulfed in flames. "I hope you're all watching closely, because I'm about to show you what a Fairy Tail wizard can do!" he shouted before lunging at Bora. "Here I COME!"

Bora hurriedly created multiple fireballs in midair. " **Red Shower!** " The fireballs rained down toward the advancing Dragon Slayer, but Sparky was more than ready to counter the attack.

" **Water Shuriken!** " He formed several shurikens made of water and threw them with perfect accuracy. They impacted with the fireballs, leaving none left and allowing Natsu to close the distance and sock the fire wizard in the face. The blow sent him flying into the town, where he crashed into a building.

Bora stood up from the rubble of what was left of the building just as Natsu and Sparky landed on a nearby rooftop. Activating his Red Carpet once again, he flew up as he prepared another spell. " **Hell's Prominence!** " he yelled. This time, his fire was launched like a beam as it raced toward the duo.

Greninja moved his hands as if he were unsheathing a pair of swords, and two long, thin, purple blades that looked similar to curved needles appeared in his hands. " **Night Slash!** " He crossed his arms and swiftly uncrossed them as the beam came their way, slashing outward and splitting the attack into smaller beams that missed them.

Frustrated that his assaults were being rendered ineffective, the fire wizard created a giant, purple ball of fire and threw it down at his opponents, hoping it would deter them. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't have been more wrong.

With little effort, Natsu stopped the attack with his bare hands before speedily devouring it, powering him up again. His stomach briefly bulged out, then returned to normal. "Now that was a hefty meal!" he commented. "You're not doing too bad, but I'm about to cook you like a smoked fish!"

"You're gonna do what to me?!" Bora screamed, terrified.

Greninja stared ahead resolutely. "Let's finish this!" he declared.

Natsu pounded his fists together, creating another seal. " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " He rushed toward Bora with incredible speed as his fist ignited.

Sparky's webbed hands glowed white and he jumped forward, his speed matching Natsu's. " **Aerial Ace!** " he called out.

The two closed in on the defenseless Bora and their fists met his face, hard. He was sent flying through the town once again, coming to a stop when he crashed into a bell in a bell tower with a loud CLANG!

"Don't be silly, Natsu. Everyone knows you smoke food with smoke, not fire," Happy said, responding to the last statement the pink-haired teen made.

Lucy could only stare at the duo in awe. "Wow… Those two were amazing," she spoke, watching Greninja's body flash a bright light. A moment later, he was replaced with Sparky. "But they went overboard!" The blonde observed all of the damage that had been done during the fight.

"Aye!"

"Oh, shut it, cat!"

Not long after, a large number of Rune Knights holding staves and shields arrived at the scene, obviously intent on arresting the ones who caused the destruction.

"The army!" Lucy exclaimed. She let out a small squeal when she abruptly felt her body being pulled in the opposite direction, the culprit being Natsu.

"Crap, we've gotta get out of here!" he yelled. Sparky quickly caught up and ran beside Natsu.

"Where the heck are you taking me?!" the Celestial Mage screamed.

"Just come on! Didn't you want to join Fairy Tail?" At that, Lucy's expression became one of astonishment. Natsu's grin widened. "Well, come on!" Lucy's expression slowly morphed into one of joy. Natsu turned to the other blond. "You should come too, Sparky! You'd definitely fit right in!"

Sparky was slightly surprised at the sudden invitation. It was pretty much confirmed that Natsu was from Fairy Tail and he did have a lot of fun spending the day with the Dragon Slayer and the flying cat. " _If everyone at Fairy Tail is as interesting as Natsu… then it sounds like a place worth checking out,_ " he thought. With that in mind, he grinned back at Natsu. "It sounds cool. I'm in!"

"Sweet! Let's go!" Natsu said, happy that his new friend accepted the offer.

"Alright!" Lucy cheered.

And with that, the three continued to run through the night while Happy flew above their heads, all four of them heading for the guild known as Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **Yay! I've _finally_ finished this chapter! I am so sorry this took months to post, but I have _never_ written a chapter this long. It's over 15K, so it was a lot of work for me. It also doesn't help that I've had to focus more on my studies.**

 **I also would've posted this chapter sooner, but the internet conveniently stopped working after I finished it, so it took a very long time for me to even log into the website.**

 **So, this story features a new OC, Sparky Jones! I hope you guys will like him as much as you like Bolt!**

 **Now I'll explain how Sparky's Magic works. First, as previously stated, Sparky is an Aura Guardian. When he and his six pokemon got hit by Palkia's Spacial Rend, Sparky subconsciously converted his pokemon into aura (don't question it, just go along with it) and absorbed them into his body to protect them. His Magic is somewhat similar to Take Over Magic, but it's not quite the same. Sparky has to concentrate on the aura of the pokemon he wants to transform into, then uses his Magic to sort of merge that aura with his own, essentially making them one and allowing him to turn into that pokemon. The blue void that I've described is just the mind of the pokemon, where Sparky and that pokemon can talk to each other. Sorry if that explanation confuses you, but it's the best way I can explain it.**

 **Speaking of his pokemon, two of the six have been revealed to be Pikachu and Greninja! Two more will be revealed next chapter, and the final two will come during the Lullaby arc. I know it seems like I'm showing them off too quickly, but there's a reason I'm doing so. It'll all be clear after the Galuna Island arc.**

 **I'll also say that in this story, pokemon can use more than four moves, as you have already seen in this chapter, but not an unlimited number.**

 **Now that I've completed the first chapter for this story, I'm flipping back over to RWBBY – The Shapeshifter. I'll post a few more chapters for that story, probably stopping at the end of Volume 1, before I come back to this story again.**

 **Now, with all that out of the way, it's time for my story recommendations (that's right, this story will have story recommendations too!):**

 **The Fairy Contender by Insane Dominator – This is probably the best Fairy Tail/Pokemon crossover I've ever read! It's about a boy named Nic Pularis who was chosen to save Arceus' life by collecting all 18 Plates in Fiore. Please read it!**

 **A Contender's Bonds by Insane Dominator – Sequel to The Fairy Contender. This story is just as amazing as the first story! Nic has completed his mission (sorry for the spoiler) and can now relax with his girlfriend and pokemon in Fiore! Check this story out as well!**

 **Dragon Tail Z by AntiHero627 – For anyone who was unaware, the original author of this story, Revolve X, put this story up for adoption and my brother did just that! Now he's writing it and doesn't plan on ending it anytime soon, so go on over and read it!**

 **That's all. Please favorite, follow, and review if you like this story! Sparky D., out!**


	2. The Frigid Rescue Mission

**Hello again, readers! I'm back with a new chapter for this story! I'm happy to see that lots of people favorited and followed this story! Keep your reviews coming in as well! Speaking of which, I'll answer the ones from last chapter:**

 **Shadowdragon9802: Thank you! I apologize for the suspense. As for Lucario being one of the pokemon, well, you won't be disappointed when you read this chapter!**

 **Batthan the Dark Knight: Hmm, to be honest, I never thought to plan out that scene. Never fear, I know exactly where to put it now!**

 **Perseus12: Well, thanks! I don't plan on ending this story anytime soon!**

 **NoSignalBlueScreen: Thank you very much! I agree that the ideas with Arceus' plates are good, but I wasn't sure how I could make that work, especially after seeing it in so many different stories, so I took a different path. I explained in my profile that I really like the idea of shapeshifting, and at the time, I thought I was the first person to come up with this idea. Hm, you make a good point there. Not to worry, Sparky won't forget his pokemon! In fact, (SPOILER) Sparky** _ **will**_ **eventually find a way to summon his pokemon again, though that is a long way off from now.**

 **Sornosquinfallen: Thanks a lot!**

 **The review left by Insane Dominator was SUPER long (which, don't get me wrong, I'm pleased about!) and so, just like in my other story, it gets the honor of being answered at the ending A/N! There's a lot mentioned in it that I plan on addressing, but I can't do it here because my opening A/N would be WAY too long.**

 **Now, on with the story!**

* * *

Chapter 2 – The Frigid Rescue Mission

The walk to Magnolia Town took some time, but there was plenty of time for Lucy to get to know Sparky.

Just like Natsu and Happy, the Celestial Mage was shocked to learn that Sparky was from another world, one that didn't have Magic, and she seemed interested by the different kinds of pokemon there were. Though, the idea that there could be another world wasn't too hard for her to believe since her Celestial Spirits were also from their own world. He told her about the events leading up to his arrival on Earthland, and like Natsu, she was stunned. "So, you were fighting a dragon?" she asked in awe.

"Yeah, but it didn't last very long. In fact, I didn't actually get a chance to attack," the trainer answered. "He's not called a Legendary for nothing. My pokemon managed to block one of his attacks, but he hit us with his signature attack, which is how we ended up here."

Lucy's eyes widened upon hearing that. As they continued on to the town, he informed her about all 18 pokemon types and their strengths and weaknesses to each other, which the blonde seemed to understand better than Natsu and Happy.

As they walked, Happy thought of another question to ask. "Hey, Sparky," he said, getting the blond's attention. "What was that move you used to stop Bora's attack from hitting us?"

"That was Greninja's **Water Pledge** , though he's got more than one way of using it," Sparky replied.

Finally, the four of them arrived in Magnolia. Once everyone had a moment to recover their breath, the pink-haired teen and the flying cat led the two blonds to their Guild. After a few minutes of navigation, the four of them finally came to a stop in front of a large building with the words "Fairy Tail" on it in big, purple letters.

"Here we are!" Happy announced. Sparky and Lucy gazed at the building in wonder. Then Natsu kicked the door open.

"We made it back alive!" he screamed.

"We're home!" Happy added.

Despite Natsu's loud greeting, everyone welcomed him back with smiles, as if that was a regular thing. The two non-members looked around as their own smiles grew wider. "Everyone seems pretty friendly," the trainer commented.

A boy with brown hair and buck teeth spoke up. "So, I heard about what happened in Hargeon, Natsu. Had to go starting trouble, did ya—?" He was cut off when Natsu kicked him in the face, sending him flying into a table.

Sparky blinked in surprise. "Well, that was unexpected."

"What did you do that for?!" Lucy shrieked.

"You lied about that Salamander! I'm going to kick your butt!" the pink-haired Dragon Slayer yelled, a tick mark over his head.

The boy stood up from the remains of the table with a tick mark over his head as well. "Don't get mad at me, I'm not the one to blame! I was just passing along a rumor I heard!"

"That was just a rumor?!"

"You wanna fight?!"

"Let's go!" Before the two blonds knew it, the two boys began to brawl, causing people to go flying into the air.

"Now, now, Natsu, I think you should calm dooooooow—!" Happy didn't get to finish his statement as someone crashed into him, making him bounce off some people before hitting the ground. Natsu's brawl caused almost all of the other members to start fighting.

Lucy chose to ignore all of the fighting for the moment. "Wow… I can't believe I'm actually standing in the Fairy Tail Guild Hall!"

"Well, if one thing can be said for this Guild, it's… lively?" Sparky said, sweatdropping as he witnessed everyone altercate.

Among the brawling members was a boy with dark blue hair and eyes. "So Natsu finally made it back, did he?" he shouted. Lucy screamed in embarrassment, understandable since the boy was almost entirely nude; he only wore a pair of black boxers.

He stomped over to where Natsu was beating up the boy with buck teeth. "It's time to settle this once and for all!"

"Gray, your clothes," said a woman sitting at a counter nearby.

"There's no time for that!" the boy, Gray, snapped back.

The woman who spoke had long, wavy brown hair and purple eyes. She wore a blue bikini top that exposed much of her cleavage and brown capri pants. She had on two metal bracelets around her biceps and completed her look with a pair of high-heeled sandals. This was Cana Alberona. She let out a sigh. "None of the men here have class. This is why I don't date." She proceeded to lift up a large barrel and gulp down its contents. Lucy gawked at the amount of alcohol she was consuming while Sparky was just surprised at her strength.

Gray made it over to where Natsu currently had the other boy's arm behind his back. "Come here and fight me, Natsu!" he demanded.

"Not until you put some clothes on!" the Dragon Slayer shot back.

"It's only noon and you boys are already whining like a bunch of spoiled babies," said a deeper voice, making Sparky and Lucy look over to the owner. It was a man, taller than both of them, wearing a black coat with a high collar that shielded his neck and black pants. He wore brown sandals on his feet. He had white hair and a scar under his right eye. His name was Elfman Strauss. He flexed his muscles. "I'm a real man! You want me to prove it to ya?!"

"Funny, I thought he was going to _stop_ the fight," Sparky muttered.

"I can't believe he's actually encouraging this!" the Celestial Mage agreed.

Then Natsu and Gray reared their arms back and punched Elfman away. The trainer deadpanned. "That didn't take long," he remarked.

"He was taken down that easily?!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeesh, it's so noisy in here." The two blonds turned around to see the speaker. It was an orange-haired teen with glasses over his eyes. He had on a green, fur-lined jacket over an orange shirt. He also wore black pants and brown shoes. There were two ladies at his sides. His name was Loke.

The two girls at his sides gasped when the glasses-wearing teen was suddenly nailed in the forehead by a flying cup. "Are you okay?" they asked as Loke's eyes narrowed.

"I'm gonna go fight, but only to protect you two," he said, smiling at them charmingly.

"Good luck, Loke!"

"He's definitely off my list," Lucy commented, crossing his face out in a book Sparky assumed she pulled out of her purse. She closed the book and put it away. "What the heck is wrong with everyone? There's not a single sane person in this building!"

"And apparently, almost everyone here likes fighting one another," the trainer added. "I've traveled through five regions and been to a lot of wild places, yet I'm pretty sure I've never been somewhere with people _this_ rowdy."

Just then, a new voice addressed them. "Hello. Are you two new?" Sparky and Lucy turned to see who had spoken to them. Standing behind the two was a pretty girl with long, white hair that went down to her back and bright blue eyes, wearing a maroon dress and heels that were the same color.

Sparky obviously didn't know who she was, but Lucy instantly recognized her. "Oh wow, it's Mirajane! In the flesh!" she squealed. The white-haired girl gave her a sweet smile while the blonde put a questioning expression on her face and pointed at the ruckus. "Uh, don't you think we should stop them?"

"It's always like this here; I just leave them be," Mirajane replied. "Besides, it's kind of fun, don't you think?"

"Incoming!" Sparky suddenly shouted, grabbing Mira's wrist and pulling her forward, just in time to avoid Elfman's body flying past where she had been standing. The large man crashed into a table while the blond teen sighed in relief. "I'm not sure I would call this fun. Someone could get seriously hurt."

Mirajane looked surprised for a moment before she smiled at the trainer. "Why, thank you for that."

He smiled back with a nod, then looked at the other blonde. "Lucy, you might want to take a step back."

Lucy blinked, puzzled, before taking a step back. She started when Gray flew by her in the next second, almost crashing into her. The mage with dark blue hair got back up and glowered at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer, who was snickering and swinging a pair of boxers around his finger. "Give me back my underwear, Natsu!" he yelled indignantly.

The Celestial Mage screamed, mortified that Gray was now totally naked. Unfortunately for her, her scream attracted his attention and he sidled up to her, asking, "Excuse me, miss, could I borrow your underwear?"

"As if!" Lucy shrieked, whacking him away with a paper fan before she found herself being picked up by Loke.

"These guys are all so insensitive. A woman has needs—" He was cut off when a now-recovered Elfman punched him into the air.

"Real men speak with their fists, Loke!" the white-haired man shouted before being kicked away by Natsu.

"I told you to butt out!" the Dragon Slayer yelled.

As the ruckus continued to get louder and even more out of hand, Cana grew more and more agitated. "So much for having a drink in peace," she murmured. The brunette brought out a card and raised it up high. "That's enough, you guys. I suggest that you knock it off!" The card flashed and a Magic seal appeared.

"Oh yeah? Says who?!" Gray countered with his hands together, a light blue energy coming from them as he created his own seal.

Elfman roared while a Magic circle covered his right arm before being replaced by rocks that surrounded it, giving his arm the appearance of a stone gauntlet.

"You punks can be such a nuisance," Loke said as he touched his glowing ring, creating a seal.

Natsu's fists became engulfed in flames. "I'm ready for you all!"

"They always fight like this?!" a terrified Lucy asked while holding onto Happy.

"Uh huh," the blue cat confirmed.

"If it's always like this, then why isn't your guild hall in ruins?" Sparky inquired with genuine curiosity. He got his answer when a giant foot stomped down behind them; the two blonds turned around to see an enormous figure towering over everyone. He blinked. "Ohhh…"

" **Will you morons stop bickering like children?!** " the giant boomed, its voice sounding like a man.

"He's huge!" Lucy screamed, even more terrified.

"Yeah, he is," Sparky agreed, only mildly surprised.

"How are you not freaking out right now?!"

The trainer looked at her. "Like I said, I've traveled through five regions. I've seen plenty of creatures as big as this guy, maybe even bigger." Lucy stared at him, stunned, while the rest of the guild went deathly quiet as everyone froze. Though Sparky didn't know it, the giant had heard his statement.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still here, Master," Mirajane said, addressing the giant.

"Did you say 'Master?!'" the Celestial Mage cried.

Natsu began laughing uproariously. "Man, what a bunch of babies! Looks like I'm the winner of this round—" Then he was promptly crushed underneath the Master's colossal foot. Lucy squeaked at the sight.

The giant looked up and saw two new people in the guild. " **It appears we have some new recruits,** " he said.

"Yes, sir!" Lucy replied nervously while Sparky just nodded calmly.

The giant let out a loud grunt and, to the blonds' escalating surprise, began to shrink. He got smaller and smaller until he was much shorter than them, and he was revealed to be an old man. "Nice to meet ya!" he said cheerfully.

"He's tiny! Is this guy really in charge?" Lucy asked.

"That's right!" Mirajane confirmed. "Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov!"

Sparky gazed on in awe. "Huh, I guess great things really do come in small packages." They watched as the short old man jumped toward a railing, accidentally bumping his head before standing on it and clearing his throat. The members below braced themselves for the scolding he was no doubt about to give them.

"You idiots have gone and done it again! Just take a look at all the paperwork the Magic Council sent me this time! This is the biggest pile of complaints yet!" Makarov yelled, waving the stack of papers in front of him. "Have you lost your minds?! All you kids are good for is getting the higher-ups mad at me!" His whole body shook with anger as the guild members looked down in shame. Lucy and Sparky watched this all silently.

Suddenly, the Guild Master's mood seemed to shift. "However…" The pages he was holding were set ablaze. "I say to heck with the Magic Council!" He threw the burning papers down, where Natsu eagerly jumped up and caught them in his mouth.

"Now listen up!" he went on. "Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform Magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus; it should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul! If all we do is worry about following rules, then our magic will never progress! Don't let those blowhards on the Council scare you; follow the path you believe in! 'Cause that's what makes the Fairy Tail Guild number one!" Makarov finished his speech by sticking his index finger into the air.

All of the members cheered and made the same gesture with their hands. The two blonds beamed in response. " _I was right. This place_ was _worth checking out,_ " the trainer thought.

* * *

Sometime later, the two non-members were finally receiving their guild emblems. Lucy's mark was pink and located on the back of her right hand, while Sparky's was azure and stamped on his forehead, though obscured by his bangs.

"There! You're both official members of Fairy Tail!" Mira informed them once she was done. Lucy admired her new mark before the two new members went over to show Natsu and Happy. The Dragon Slayer congratulated the two of them, though he got Lucy's name wrong, which led to the blonde angrily correcting him. As the four conversed, they were approached by none other than the Guild Master.

"Excuse me, young man," he began, getting their attention. "What is your name?"

The teen in question smiled. "My name is Sparky."

"Sparky… Tell me, where are you from?" he asked inquisitively. The question gained the other guild members' attention as well.

At the sudden question, the trainer's smile dropped in surprise and he blinked. Before he could answer, though, Natsu put his arm on his friend's shoulder with a grin and spoke up. "Sparky here is from another world with lots of dragons and creatures called pickymon!"

"They're called pokemon, Natsu," Happy corrected with a deadpan expression while Sparky chuckled a bit nervously.

However, nobody seemed shocked or surprised. Almost everyone stared at him skeptically. Gray was the first to respond to their words. "Man, Natsu, are you really that gullible? Believing something like that; you really do have flames for brains."

The Dragon Slayer was instantly in his face. "What was that, ya pervy stripper?!"

"I said you're an idiot for falling for something like that, ya flaming moron!" Gray retorted.

"Oh yeah, well—"

"Enough!" To their surprise, as well as the surprise of the guild, Sparky was the one to break them up. He got between them and kept both at arm's length. He turned to Gray with a stern look, but it was quickly replaced with confusion. "Weren't you just wearing clothes?" True to his words, the dark blue-haired teen was once again wearing nothing but his boxers.

"What are you talking abo—GAH!" He screamed when he realized that he was almost completely naked again and scrambled for his clothes. The trainer just gazed at him, puzzled at how he managed to take off his clothes without noticing. Of course, judging from the lack of reaction from the other members, this probably happened far more often than he would care to think.

Sparky shook his head to clear it. "Getting back on topic, I wasn't lying or trying to trick Natsu when I told him that. I really _am_ from another world."

Before Gray could respond, Makarov spoke up. "And this world… has dragons in it?" He sounded the slightest bit skeptical, though who could blame him?

"Well… they _are_ dragons, but they're pokemon dragons," Sparky explained. "From what Natsu and Happy told me, they're not like the dragons on this world. They _are_ rare, but still a lot more common than they are here."

The Guild Master hummed as he processed the trainer's words. "…Well, I don't think I've heard of anything like this before, and frankly, your story does sound a bit far-fetched."

Sparky shrugged. "That's understandable. This _is_ a first for me, too."

"In any case, would you mind showing us one of your pokemon as proof?" At this point, everyone in the guild was staring at the newest member with curiosity.

"Not at all," Sparky said before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Of course, things are about to get a little weirder."

Before the old man could question that, a blue and black seal appeared under the blond teen's feet, much to everyone's shock, excluding Natsu, Happy, and Lucy. Sparky was engulfed in a bright light; once it faded, Greninja was standing where the trainer had been.

As everyone looked on stunned, especially Mirajane and Elfman, the three that had been in Hargeon smiled in remembrance. "Hey, I remember this one!" Natsu exclaimed.

"It's the frog that can attack with water!" Happy added.

"I'm pretty sure this pokemon's name was Greninja," Lucy supplied.

The Ninja Pokemon nodded in confirmation. "Indeed." He addressed the other members of the guild. "My name is Greninja."

Everyone's reactions ranged from shock to curiosity, though overall, they were nothing short of astonished. Of course, this was to be expected.

"Whoa! Did you see that?"

"I've never seen an animal like that before..."

"So this is a pokemon?"

Just then, the pokemon's body shone brightly, the white light forcing some of the members to look away. When the light died down, everyone saw Greninja had been replaced with Sparky. "Yes, that's a pokemon. I'll be honest, though, the whole 'using Magic' thing is also pretty new to me since Magic doesn't exist in my world," the trainer confessed.

Of course, this revelation left everyone as stunned as when they saw Greninja. Mirajane stepped forward. "Really? Because that looked a lot like Take Over Magic."

"It was super manly!" Elfman added.

Sparky tilted his head in thought. " _Take Over Magic? Haven't I heard that somewhere?_ " Then he remembered. " _Oh yeah, that Bora guy mentioned something about it on his ship._ "

He was pulled from his thoughts when Makarov started speaking again. "Well, Sparky, why don't you tell us more about your world?"

The trainer nodded. "Okay," he said. He began by telling them about the different pokemon types as well as some of the different kinds of pokemon, like he did with Natsu, Happy, and Lucy. He received mixed reactions from his new guildmates; surprise was prevalent on their faces, but he also saw curiosity, interest, and awe.

Once he was done with that, he told everyone that he was a Pokemon Trainer and what they did. "I've been a trainer for five years, ever since I was 13," Sparky revealed.

"Isn't that a bit too young to go around training destructive creatures, like the ones you have that can use water and electricity to attack?" Lucy questioned.

Sparky crossed his arms and pouted. "Well, that was actually one of the more recent rules. It used to be 10." Everyone's eyes bulged out at that, wondering why he looked so upset at that, but the blond teen just went on, now smirking. "And besides, Pikachu and Greninja aren't even close to being the most destructive pokemon I have on hand."

Once again, everyone looked surprised, though the Guild Master looked more horrified than surprised. " _Please, please, don't let this kid be another Natsu,_ " he thought.

"Anyway, before a trainer can officially begin their journey, they're given a pokemon to start with; a starter pokemon," Sparky explained. "Greninja is my starter."

"So that frog was your first pokemon?" Gray inquired.

The trainer didn't answer for a moment; he just closed his eyes as if he were remembering something. He opened his eyes and smiled, though if one looked closely, they would see a hint of sadness. "More or less," he answered.

His response perplexed everyone, but before anyone could question it, Sparky continued talking. "I started my journey in Kalos, my home region. Since then, I've traveled through four other regions, the last one being Sinnoh. However, in Sinnoh, there was an evil organization called Team Galactic, led by a guy named Cyrus." Sparky's face was grim as he spoke about the organization he fought. "His goal… was the destruction of the universe. Afterward, he was going to create a new universe with himself as the ruler."

Everyone gasped upon hearing that. "That's terrible!" Lucy exclaimed. "How would he accomplish something like that?"

"He planned to use the powers of the Legendary Pokemon, Dialga and Palkia," Sparky explained.

"These Legendary Pokemon… I assume they're stronger than the average pokemon," Makarov mused.

The trainer nodded. "A lot stronger. In fact, Dialga and Palkia are some of the stronger Legendaries. They're the masters of time and space, respectively." He shook his head to get back on track. "Anyway, he might've succeeded if me and my friend Tony hadn't put a stop to it. We fought Team Galactic whenever we had the chance, defeating them in battle and delaying their plans. Despite our efforts, however, Team Galactic still managed to capture three other Legendary Pokemon. Though they weren't as powerful as Dialga and Palkia, they were still crucial to their plans."

Everyone in the guild looked interested to hear Sparky's story; even Cana had put down her large barrel to listen. "So what did you do next?" she asked.

"They needed the three to create an object called a Red Chain, and they needed two Red Chains. Fortunately, Tony and I were able to free the Legendaries before Team Galactic could even finish making one of them," Sparky said. "However, Cyrus still tried to go ahead with his plan, even with an unfinished Red Chain. He escaped to a place known as Spear Pillar and the two of us went after him, though we were a little slowed down by some of the lower ranked members of Team Galactic.

"After we took them down and made it to Spear Pillar, we found Cyrus with two of the higher ranked members of Team Galactic: his Commanders, Mars and Jupiter. Tony assured me that he could beat them on his own, so I went ahead to fight Cyrus." The trainer's eyes hardened as he remembered it. "Our battle ended with me as the victor, but Cyrus tried to use the Red Chain, anyway. While Cyrus did manage to summon Palkia, he couldn't control it with the imperfect object, so Palkia attacked him. In its rage, Palkia attacked me as well, and its spatial powers sent me into this dimension," Sparky concluded.

The guild was quiet as the story of Sparky's adventure settled in their heads. Gray broke the silence. "Man, that's gotta be the craziest story I've ever heard," he remarked.

"For once, I agree with the stripper," Natsu said, earning a glare from the dark blue-haired teen. "That's one wild adventure, Sparky."

The trainer nodded in agreement. "Crazy as it is, it's all true." He frowned, now a little worried. "I do hope things are okay on Tony's end." He hadn't given it much thought before, what with everything that had happened, but retelling the story reminded him that his best friend had been on Spear Pillar with him. Tony didn't know what happened to Sparky; he probably thought he was dead. Not to mention, he possibly had to deal with the enraged Legendary.

"Is your friend strong?"

Sparky blinked and turned to the Dragon Slayer, who had asked the question. "Well, yeah. Tony's been a trainer for as long as I have, and he's defeated me in battle a couple of times," he answered.

"Then you don't have anything to worry about!" Natsu assured him with a grin. "You were only taken down because you were caught off guard. If Tory really is as strong as you say, then he should be able to handle himself!"

Sparky deadpanned. "His name is Tony, Natsu." Then he smiled. "But yeah, you're right! I shouldn't be worried! I'm sure he can take care of himself!" Everyone smiled at his enthusiasm. "As for me, I may be stuck in a new world, but I'm gonna make the most of it!"

"Well, Sparky, I think you'll make an excellent addition to the guild," Makarov told him, making the trainer beam at him.

"Great!" the Dragon Slayer exclaimed. "Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way…" His fist ignited as he held it up. "… let's fight, Sparky!"

The blond teen looked at him in surprise and confusion. "You… want to fight?" he asked uncertainly. Natsu nodded in confirmation. "Why?"

"Because you're strong, and I like fighting strong people!" the pink-haired teen answered. "So come on! Let's go, you and me!"

Sparky was silent for a while before he finally spoke. "As fun as that sounds, I'm going to have to decline your challenge. Keep in mind that I still haven't fully gotten used to my Magic, and you haven't even seen my whole team."

Natsu pouted in disappointment. "Aw man, I don't care about that! I just want to fight!"

"You wouldn't know what to expect," Sparky said. "Even with Greninja and Pikachu, you don't know the full extent of what they can do." He stopped to think for a second. "How about this: once you know all six of my pokemon, we can have a fight. How does that sound?"

Natsu thought about his offer before relenting. "Alright, it's a deal! Come on, let's go find a job! That way, we can help you get more used to your Magic!" He took off for the Request Board.

"Aye, sir!" the blue cat cheered, flying after his friend.

Sparky smiled, following after the two. "Sounds like a plan."

Everyone stared at the newest member of the guild, wondering just what exactly he and his pokemon were capable of. Then there were a few people who were thinking, " _Fighting is this guy's definition of fun?_ "

Once the trio reached the board, where another guy was just standing and staring, the Dragon Slayer started scanning it, searching for a suitable job, while Happy reminded him to choose one with a large reward. After a little while, Natsu selected one. "Wow, 160,000 Jewel just to get rid of some thieves?!"

"That sounds perfect!" Happy chimed in.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Sparky agreed.

Just then, the three heard a voice behind them. "How come my dad hasn't come back yet?" They looked over to see a little boy, no older than six, talking to the Guild Master.

"You're starting to work my nerves, Romeo. You're a wizard's son, so have faith in your father and wait patiently for him to return," he replied.

"But sir, he told me he would only be gone for three days, and it's been over a week now!"

Makarov thought for a second. "If I recall, Macao took the job on Mt. Hakobe."

"That's right, and it's not that far from here, so why won't anyone go look for him?!" Romeo questioned insistently.

"Listen, kid, your old man's a wizard! And like any other wizard in this Guild, he can take care of himself! Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!" Makarov yelled.

The young boy clenched his fist before socking the old man in the face. "Jerk!" he screamed. Romeo ran out of the guild hall, crying. "I hate you all!"

Sparky frowned as he watched the little boy run off, finding the Guild Master to be too harsh on him when he was just anxious about his father. He would be more upset if he couldn't sense that Makarov was also feeling worried. " _He could've handled that better,_ " the trainer thought.

A loud crash got his attention and he turned to see that Natsu had smashed the job paper he had been holding onto the board so hard that the board dented. "Hey, what do you think you're doing, Natsu? You almost broke the board!" the man standing nearby complained. However, the pink-haired teen ignored him, wordlessly grabbing his backpack and treading out the door with his cat partner in tow.

Sparky had a pretty good idea where he was going.

* * *

Romeo was walking down the street, sobbing at the fact that no one from Fairy Tail was willing to help him. As he continued to cry, he felt a hand pat his head for a brief second as a sign of comfort. The little boy looked up to see Natsu pass by with a serious expression on his face.

Once Natsu was out of sight, Romeo felt another hand rest on his head. Looking up to the hand's owner, he saw a blond-haired teen he had never seen before smiling at him reassuringly. "We'll bring him back. Don't worry," the teen promised before running to catch up to his pink-haired friend. Romeo stared after him with slight wonder.

Natsu and Happy were just leaving Magnolia when they heard someone calling the former's name. The duo turned around to see Sparky approaching them. "What is it, Sparky?" Natsu inquired.

"I want to help you guys," he answered.

"Really?" Happy asked.

Sparky nodded, grinning. "Of course! It sounds like your friend is in a lot of trouble, so you'll probably need all the help you can get. Besides, you saw Romeo; he's distraught about his father. I wanna help put his worries to rest. This may also be a good opportunity for me to get more comfortable with my Magic."

Natsu had been a bit surprised at Sparky's willingness to help, but soon he grinned back. "Thanks, Sparky! Let's get going!"

"Aye!"

"Lead the way!"

* * *

It was now morning, and the trio had surprisingly become a quartet with the addition of Lucy. They were riding to Mt. Hakobe by carriage, which made Natsu's motion sickness flare up. His two human companions could only stare in pity.

"Wow. You really do have serious motion sickness. Just another reason to feel sorry for you," Lucy murmured.

The Dragon Slayer managed to hear her comment amidst his nausea. "What's that supposed to mean?!" he demanded weakly.

"Oh, nothing! Forget I said anything!"

Sparky decided to change the subject. "So what's Mt. Hakobe like?"

As Natsu was in no condition to answer, Happy spoke up. "It's pretty cold there. And very snowy." Just then, their ride came to a stop.

"I guess we're here," the Celestial Mage muttered.

"ALL RIGHT, WE STOPPED MOVING!" Natsu roared, coming back to life.

As he was spewing flames, with his cat dancing at his feet, their driver addressed them. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this is as far as I can take you," he called. The four opened the carriage doors to see why.

An intense blizzard was raging outside. The winds were so strong that Happy had to hold onto the door of the carriage to keep from being blown away. "Where exactly are we, Natsu?!" Lucy shouted over the howling winds.

"Is this Mt. Hakobe?" the trainer inquired.

"Aye!" Happy affirmed.

* * *

Sometime later, the four were now treading on the mountain, though Lucy was incredibly uncomfortable. "Why the heck is it so cold here?! I know we're on a mountain, but it's summer right now, so there shouldn't be a blizzard like this anywhere!"

"That's what you get for not dressing properly," Natsu chastised her.

"Oh please, it's not like you're dressed for this blizzard either! And Sparky's not much better off than you!"

"Well, you don't hear Sparky complaining, do you?"

The blonde opened her mouth to retort, then realized he had a point. "Wait a minute, you're right!" She whirled to face the other blond. "Hey, Sparky!"

The mentioned teen looked to be concentrating on something, but he snapped out of it and turned to her. "Hm?"

"Why aren't you bothered by the cold?"

Sparky shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"How can you be used to this?!" Lucy shouted in disbelief.

"I've been to many different kinds of cold environments, including a couple of snowy mountains," Sparky revealed. "This blizzard is nothing compared to the one at Mt. Silver. On that mountain, the snowstorm was so thick that I could barely see anything around unless I was inside one of the many caves or at the summit, where it calmed down a bit, but also started to hail."

"Sounds like you've been to lots of places," Happy noted.

The trainer nodded, confirming the cat's statement. "Traveling around the world for 5 years will do that to a guy. But stories about my adventures can wait till later. Right now, we've got to find Macao."

"You got that right!" the Dragon Slayer agreed.

"We can't do that if we freeze to death!" the Celestial Mage protested, grabbing the blanket on Natsu's backpack. "Since you two clearly don't need it, let me take the blanket!"

"Boy, she just doesn't stop talking, does she?" Natsu asked rhetorically.

"Aye," Happy agreed.

Lucy brightened up as she suddenly had an idea. "Oh, I know!" She whipped out one of her Keys, this one being silver. " **Open: Gate of the Clock Constellation – Horologium!** " She pointed her Key downward and a Magic circle appeared. The face of a clock, along with a few gears, went flying into the air before coming back down as a grandfather clock. Two arms popped out of the clock and were followed by a head coming out of the top.

"Whoa, a clock!" Natsu said in surprise.

"That was awesome!" Happy exclaimed.

"A clock, huh?" Sparky mused. "Can't say there's a pokemon that looks like one." The three of them watched as the blonde opened the glass and stepped into the clock. Once she was settled in, she started speaking, though they couldn't tell what she was saying.

"Wait, what? I can't hear you," Natsu said.

"She says 'I'm staying in here and I'm not coming out!'" Horologium told them.

"Then why did you come with us?"

"'What kind of crazy job would force Macao to come somewhere like here?' the lady questions," Horologium said.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that, too," Sparky added.

The pink-haired teen crossed his arms. "You should've asked that before you left the guild. He went to slay a Vulcan; it's a big monster."

"So he went monster hunting… I've done stuff similar to that on my world," the trainer informed them.

Lucy, on the other hand, looked scared, and she spoke again through the clock. "'I want to go back to the guild!' she proclaims."

"Go ahead and be my guest, I say back," Natsu replied as he began walking away.

"Aye," Happy agreed, following after the Dragon Slayer.

Sparky shot the Celestial Mage an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Lucy." He ran ahead, leaving her alone with her Celestial Spirit.

Now some distance away, Natsu began calling for his friend in hopes that he would respond. "Macao! Where are you?!"

"Macao!" Happy joined in.

Sparky seemed to be deep in concentration again. Once he picked up on something, his eyes snapped open. "Guys! Something's coming this way!" he warned them before facing one direction in particular. Natsu and Happy gazed at him in curiosity, wondering how he could tell, before turning in time to see a large figure jump at them with its arms raised.

Natsu and Sparky leaped back to avoid its arms slamming into the ground where they had been standing. The two covered up to defend themselves from the snow that went flying as a result. The creature stood up and sneered at them while also allowing them to get a good look at it. It was a white monkey, while its face, chest, hands, legs, and tail were black.

"That's a big Vulcan!" the cat noted.

"So this is a Vulcan, huh?" Sparky said, watching as the beast appeared to be looking for something. The three became mystified when it began running away from them.

Meanwhile, Lucy was still inside Horologium, waiting for the others to finish the search. She felt the clock shake and, thinking it was one of her friends, opened her eyes.

She was definitely _not_ expecting to come face-to-face with a giant monkey, so naturally, she started freaking out.

"Me like human woman!" the Vulcan said before it picked up the Spirit.

"So it can talk," Natsu observed.

"'Don't just stand there! Hurry up and save me!' she yells furiously," Horologium relayed to them as the Vulcan carried him, and by extension Lucy, away.

"Well, let's get it!" the pink-haired teen shouted, preparing to charge at the monkey.

"Wait, Natsu!" Sparky put an arm in front of him to stop him, making the Dragon Slayer stare at him quizzically. "This thing may be responsible for Macao's disappearance. It could be taking Lucy to its shelter, and we might find Macao there."

Natsu's eyes widened slightly. "Huh, I didn't think of that."

"Come on, let's follow that monkey!" the trainer said, taking the lead as they pursued the Vulcan.

* * *

In a cave near the summit, the Vulcan had finally placed Horologium down, then proceeded to start dancing around the clock Spirit. Lucy could only remain inside, comical tears running down her face. "'How did I get myself into this mess? And what's with this monkey? Why is he so excited?' she asks tearfully," Horologium said.

Once the Vulcan finished dancing, it stood in front of the clock, staring hungrily at the blonde inside, who shuddered nervously as a result. It stayed like that for some time, until a beeping sound could be heard, and Horologium glowed golden and vanished. "Where'd you go, Horologium?! Don't you disappear on me!" Lucy screamed frantically.

" _Sorry, but my time is up. Take care,_ " the Spirit said before leaving completely.

"Give me an extension! Please!" she cried. The Vulcan looked even more excited now that the only thing separating the two of them was gone, but before it could do anything, a voice rang out through the cave.

"Hey, you overgrown ape!" Lucy smiled in relief as she whirled around to face the voice. She spotted Natsu charging toward them like a rampaging Tauros. "Where's Macao?! Tell me!" Then he slipped on the ice and crashed into a wall.

The blonde wizard gazed on in disbelief before she facepalmed. "Why does he always feel the need to make an entrance?" The only upside was that he temporarily took the Vulcan's attention off of Lucy, and as it was turning back to her, it was blasted away by a glowing blue sphere, catching everyone by surprise.

"Don't forget about me!" another voice called out. The attacker was revealed to be Sparky, who was standing nearby with his right arm outstretched. He hurried over to where Natsu had crashed and Lucy was quick to do the same.

"What _was_ that?" she inquired once she reached the other blond. "Was that Magic?"

Sparky shook his head. "No, it's not Magic; I'll explain it to you later. Is Macao here?"

"I don't think anyone else is here besides us," Lucy answered.

"Alright, spill it, monkey! You understand me, don't you?" Natsu shouted as he got back to his feet. He glared at the giant monkey, which had recovered from the trainer's attack and was staring at him in confusion. "What have you done with my friend? He's a human man. Tell me where he is!"

"Man?" it repeated.

"That's right! Where are you hiding him?!" the Dragon Slayer demanded.

"Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah Natsu, it was just a theory," Sparky agreed. "I don't sense anyone else around."

Lucy was about to ask him what he meant by that when the Vulcan abruptly began making grunting noises and gestured to a hole that led back outside. "Hey, I think he's going to show me!" Natsu stuck his head out of the hole. "Macao!" The next thing he knew, his entire body was shoved out by the Vulcan's huge hand. "MONKEY!" he screamed as he was sent plummeting down the mountain.

"Natsu!" the two blonds shouted in shock and worry.

The Vulcan pounded its chest repeatedly. "No like man! Me like woman!"

Lucy stared out of the hole. "This isn't good. He can't survive out there!"

"Let's not count him out yet," Sparky said, narrowing his eyes at the Vulcan as he began to focus. "For now… nobody knocks my friends into a blizzard! How about you pick on someone your own size!" After he finished speaking a white Magic circle appeared at his feet, larger than the previous two that he had used. The color of the seal indicated that he was using someone other than Pikachu or Greninja. The seal flashed, enveloping the trainer in white light.

"That's right, ya pervy monkey! You're going down!" Lucy gripped her Key Ring and pulled off a golden key. " **Open: Gate of the Golden Bull – Taurus!** " she chanted. The ground broke apart as a black and white bull erupted from it. On his back was a big ax.

"Cow?" the Vulcan questioned.

Meanwhile, the light coming from Sparky's transformation died down to reveal that the new pokemon Sparky turned into was _a lot_ bigger than the trainer himself. It was dark blue-green primarily, and its most eye-catching feature was its belly, which was enormous. Its face, stomach, and feet were cream-colored. Two fangs could be seen poking up from the lower part of its jaw. It had claws on its hands and feet, and its eyes appeared closed, as if it were asleep on its feet.

After a second, the giant pokemon did react, though, pointing at the Vulcan. "Get ready, because Snorlax is physically the strongest pokemon I have on hand," he spoke, though sounding somewhat sluggish.

"So this pokemon is called Snorlax, huh?" the Celestial Mage mused. She faced the monkey with a determined expression. "You better watch out, 'cause Taurus is the strongest Celestial Spirit I have a contract with it!"

Just then, the bull gazed at Lucy with hearts in his eyes. "Oh wow, Miss Lucy, I almost forgot what a nice figure you had; why don't you give me a smoooooch?"

"Oh yeah, he's a huge perv as well," the blonde sighed. Snorlax stared at him but said nothing.

The Vulcan became angered. "Keep away from my woman!"

That got Taurus' attention. " _Your_ woman?!" he shouted. "Them's fighting words, you mooooonkey!"

"Get him!" Lucy commanded.

Taurus took the ax off his back before jumping into the air. He spun it around and slammed it into the ground, creating a ripple of earth that was sent in the Vulcan's direction. However, the Vulcan evaded the attack with ease.

"He's fast!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Let me try," Snorlax said, starting to run toward the Vulcan. He seemed sluggish in his movements as well, at least until he curled up into a ball. " **Rollout!** " He rolled at a high speed as he continued his course, but the monkey put its arms out and caught the pokemon, though the impact sent it back a few inches. With some effort, it managed to throw the rolling pokemon over its head.

Sparky crashed into the ground, kicking up some dirt. When it cleared, it showed the Snorlax was back on its feet, looking somewhat shaken up. "He's strong, too," Sparky observed. "Let's try this again. **Rollout!** " Again, the pokemon curled up into a ball and rolled toward their enemy.

The Vulcan was prepared to send the attack off-course again but was caught off guard when Snorlax suddenly changed direction.

"Whoa, he can tell where he's going like that?" Lucy questioned in awe.

The Sleeping Pokemon continued to roll around the giant monkey until finally heading toward it again. The Vulcan tried once more to stop the attack, but when the Snorlax crashed into it, it was sent flying, much to Lucy and Taurus' shock.

Sparky continued rolling until he was behind where the Vulcan would land. He uncurled himself and slid to a stop as it was coming down, and once the Vulcan was close enough, he grabbed it and restrained it by holding its arms behind its back. "Attack it now!" he called to Taurus as he struggled to hold the beast.

The bull saw what he was doing and prepared himself. He charged at the Vulcan with his ax ready, and he would've successfully swung it at the Vulcan if not for one mishap.

Natsu was back.

With a fierce yell, he kicked the Spirit in the face, knocking him out instantly and making him drop his ax. "Taurus!" Lucy screamed in shock.

The surprise of Natsu's return also made Sparky unintentionally loosen his grip on the Vulcan. The monkey slammed its head against the pokemon's, jarring the Snorlax but not actually hurting him. Still, it was enough to make him let go, and the Vulcan jumped away.

"Hey, why are there more monsters now than when I left?" the pink-haired teen inquired, pointing at the Vulcan and Snorlax.

"That was a friend, you idiot! One of my Spirits!" Lucy berated him.

"That guy?" Natsu looked at the pokemon.

"Not him, the bull! That's Sparky!"

Natsu looked interested. "Really?! What's this one called?"

"Snorlax," the pokemon answered, walking over to him.

"Sweet! That's three down now!" Natsu cheered.

Lucy seemed to realize something. "Wait a minute, how were you able to survive out there?" she asked, making the Dragon Slayer turn to her with a smirk.

"Happy came to get me," he replied. He looked up at his feline friend. "Thanks again, little buddy!"

"Aye!" the cat said.

"So you can't handle modes of transportation, but flying with Happy is alright with you?" the Celestial Mage questioned.

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Natsu said, looking aghast. "Happy isn't a mode of transportation, he's my friend! I mean, duh!"

"You're right, it was totally wrong of me to compare the two," Lucy said.

Finally snapping into action, the Vulcan leaped above Natsu, ready to slam its large arm onto him. The Dragon Slayer blocked the attack with one of his own arms, and while the ground under him cracked profusely, Natsu did not falter.

"Now listen up! I consider everyone in the Fairy Tail guild my friends!" he said. The Vulcan kicked Natsu, who blocked the attack with his arms. He was sent skidding back, but he continued talking. "Whether it's Gramps or Mira, or even those annoying jerks, Gray and Elfman!" Lucy looked awed at his words. The Vulcan began charging at Natsu as he stood still. "Happy, Lucy, and Sparky; they're all my friends." The latter two seemed surprised to hear that, though it was hard to tell with Snorlax.

The air around the Dragon Slayer began to heat up as his feet were engulfed in flames. "Which is why…" The monkey jumped up to punch Natsu, but the pink-haired teen was faster and intercepted with a flaming kick to the gut. "... I'm not leaving without Macao!" His kick sent the Vulcan into the ceiling; as it fell down, icicles fell from the ceiling as well. Natsu smirked.

The giant monkey swiped its arms and sent the icicles at Natsu. Lucy moved to get out of the way, but Snorlax suddenly jumped over them and landed in the path of the attack. The icicles slammed into the Sleeping Pokemon but bounced off his huge belly, and his enormous body shielded the other three. "Ice attacks won't do much damage to Snorlax thanks to Thick Fat." Sparks of electricity started coming off of his body as he generated it before firing it as a bolt of lightning. " **Thunderbolt!** "

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy looked surprised to see that. "Whoa, that looks like the attack that Sparky's Pikachu used," Natsu noted.

"But this pokemon doesn't look like an Electric-type," Happy said.

The bolt crashed into the Vulcan and electrocuted it before sending it flying back. It got back up slowly, then noticed the ax beside it. The beast picked up the weapon and chuckled menacingly.

"Well, that's bad news," Sparky said.

"He got Taurus' ax!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Please, be careful, Miss Lucy," the bull said, dazed.

Brandishing the weapon, the Vulcan charged at the pokemon, who rolled back to avoid the assault. With its original target gone, the monkey went for the next closest person: Natsu. It swung the ax at Natsu, who effortlessly dodged it. He continued to evade the beast's onslaught until he slipped on the ice and fell on his back with a stunned expression.

The Vulcan tried to slam the ax down on the vulnerable Dragon Slayer, but he managed to get to his feet and stopped the weapon inches from his face by grabbing the sides of the blades with his hands. The two entered a struggle, both sides pushing for dominance, while Lucy was trying to wake up her Celestial Spirit.

"Go back, Taurus! If you go back to the Celestial Spirit World, your ax will disappear!" she insisted, but Taurus was unresponsive.

As the Vulcan continued its struggle, it felt a tap on its shoulder. Turning its head, the monkey saw Sparky standing there with a glowing blue fist reared back. " **Ice Punch!** " he yelled, throwing his fist forward. It connected with the Vulcan's face, sending it stumbling back and causing it to drop the ax. Traces of ice could be seen on its face. With it momentarily distracted, Natsu got a breather and prepared for a final attack.

"Eat this! **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " he yelled, slamming his fist into the monkey and sending it crashing into a wall. It lay there, upside down and unconscious.

"We beat it!" Happy cheered.

Snorlax's body gave off a bright light before he changed back to Sparky. "Well, that brings back memories," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, but wasn't this monkey supposed to tell us where your friend is?" Lucy reminded them.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that," Natsu admitted sheepishly.

"Well, it doesn't look like he'll be talking anytime soon," the blonde said. Suddenly, the Vulcan's body shone brightly and kicked up some smoke, catching the four off guard.

The light faded and the smoke cleared, allowing everyone to look at the Vulcan again. "What the heck was that?" Natsu inquired. Then his eyes grew wide as he saw what lay ahead of him, or rather, who. "Macao?!"

"Are you telling me that big perverted monkey was actually your friend this whole time?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.

"What happened to him?" Sparky wondered.

"He must have been Taken Over by the Vulcan," Happy stated.

"What do you mean, Happy?" the trainer asked.

"It must have used a possession spell," the cat explained. "It kind of similar to what you can do, but Vulcans survive by stealing people's bodies. They're evil body snatchers!" The four treated the man's injuries as best as they could. "It looks like he put up a good fight before that Vulcan got to him."

"I think I have something to treat his wounds," Sparky spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I haven't trained enough yet to heal injuries without completely exhausting myself, but I have a pokemon that can do so. Wait just a moment." With that, he began to focus, until an orange seal, silver near the center, appeared under him. The light flashed, and when it faded, there was a new pokemon there.

The pokemon looked like a canine that was mostly blue and black in color. It had cream-colored fur on its chest as well as a metal spike. Two more metal spikes were on the back of its paws. Its paws and legs were black, and four black appendages hung from the back of its head. It also had a blue tail.

The pokemon opened its eyes, showing off red irises. " **I am Lucario,** " he spoke, surprising them a little.

"This pokemon uses telepathy?" Lucy questioned.

Lucario nodded. " **Correct. Now if you'll excuse me…** " He faced Macao and placed his hands in front of him. " **Heal Pulse.** " A light pink orb appeared in front of him, which then broke apart into sparkles that released waves of light pink energy that enveloped the unconscious man. Gradually, his wounds began to fade away. Once the move was done, Macao looked to be in better condition than before. " **That should do it.** "

"Wow, thanks a ton, Sparky!" Natsu exclaimed.

" **No problem,** " he replied before turning back to normal.

A few seconds later, Macao began to stir before his eyes opened. He took in the Dragon Slayer nearby. "Natsu…"

"You're okay!" Natsu said happily. Lucy and Sparky smiled as well.

"I'm so pathetic… I defeated nineteen of those brutes." At that, the two blonds' smiles dropped in surprise. "But the twentieth… that's the one that got me. I'm so angry with myself… I'm embarrassed to go back and face Romeo."

"You beat nineteen of those things?!" Sparky exclaimed in shock. "We had enough trouble with just one. You must be really strong if you fought off nineteen by yourself!"

"Sparky's right! Don't talk like that; it's still a very impressive feat!" the pink-haired teen agreed. He held out his hand with a grin and Macao clasped it. "Now let's go home. Your little boy's been waiting for ya!" Macao grinned back, and the five of them made their way off the mountain.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Magnolia, Romeo was still waiting for his father to return. He remembered all the times he was teased by the other kids about how the wizards at Fairy Tail did nothing but sit around and get drunk. He had begged his dad to take a job as a result of all the teasing.

Now he was regretting it, feeling that because of his insistence, he might never see his father again. As he sat down crying, he heard someone call out to him. "Hey, Romeo!" Looking up, he saw Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Sparky coming his way. His eyes widened and tears began to well up in them when he saw Natsu supporting Macao as they walked.

"DAD!" he screamed in joy as he tackled his father to the ground. The tears were now running down his face freely. "You came back! I'm so sorry, dad!"

"No, I'm sorry for making you worry," Macao said.

"I can handle it, because I'm a wizard's son!" The four who rescued Macao watched the scene from the side before they began to walk away.

"Next time those bullies pick on you, here's what I want you to say: 'Can your old man defeat nineteen monsters singlehandedly? Because mine can!'" the man told his son. Romeo grinned widely in response.

As the group of four was heading back to the guild, Romeo called after them. "Natsu! Happy! Thanks for your help!"

"No problem, kiddo," Natsu replied.

"Aye!" Happy added.

"Sparky! Lucy! Thanks for helping 'em bring my daddy back to me!" he shouted.

Sparky grinned at him. "It was my pleasure!" Lucy smiled and waved at him.

Once they got close to the guild, Natsu turned to Sparky. "So Sparky, what do you think of Fairy Tail so far?" he inquired.

The trainer thought for a moment before replying. "Well, so far, I think the members are loud and destructive, yourself included." The Dragon Slayer seemed to deflate a bit upon hearing that. "But that's not so bad; it just means there's never a boring moment in this guild. Plus, it's undeniable that you guys care about each other a lot." Natsu perked back up and smiled, making Sparky smile as well as he watched the guild hall come into view. "I think I'll really enjoy being a member of this guild!"

And once they reached the guild, they were welcomed back by their guildmates.

* * *

 **And that's the end! I am** _ **so**_ **sorry this took so long! I tried my absolute hardest to finish this chapter before 2017 ended, but I've been** _ **swamped**_ **. I finished the chapter a couple of days ago and was ready to post it yesterday, but Doc Manager was acting up.**

 **In any case, I'm glad that I did manage to get this out. I wouldn't want you readers to think that I've forgotten about you! :)**

 **So yeah, some stuff was revealed about Sparky: things he's done, places he's been, etc. Also, two more of his pokemon have made their debut: Snorlax and Lucario! I know Lucario wasn't a part of the action this chapter, but I do have a few fights planned out for him in the future.**

 **I also plan on updating my profile soon, so be on the lookout for that in the near future!**

 **Now to answer Insane Dominator's review:**

 **When I first came up with the idea for this story, I knew it would involve Palkia in some way, so I figured that would be where this story would begin. Then I thought, what better way to start than with that fiasco in Pokemon Pearl? Honestly, it was fortunate for me that Pearl was the only Sinnoh Gen 4 game I've played!**

 **I also figured that with a crossover like this, it would be best to start at the beginning, so I decided to go with the first episode! I know it's not necessary, but I felt like it would be best.**

 **Yes, as previously stated last chapter, Sparky is an Aura Guardian. He was actually an Aura Guardian before he came to Earthland; he doesn't actually need to know Magic to use it because it's something he's already had. Concerning your OC, there are some things he can do that she can't (as far as I've read, since I have yet to finish A Contender's Bonds), and vice versa.**

 **Now, concerning his Magic, it is similar to Take Over Magic. To be honest, when I first came up with this idea, I had only watched a select few episodes, so I thought I had been the first one to come up with this idea. Then I watched more of the show and learned about Take Over Magic and I thought, oh well. Might as well go ahead with my idea.**

 **I can understand why you don't like the 'more than 4 moves' rule; after all, that's what the games are all about: pokemon learning only four moves. But I've always felt like 4 moves were too little in terms of diversity for a pokemon. I like versatility in a pokemon, and I wouldn't be able to pull it off if the pokemon in my story only knew four moves.**

 **I'm happy you enjoyed the original twists I left in the chapter! I hope you like what I did in this one as well! As you can see, Sparky is from Kalos but has traveled through more than one region. So no need to worry, there will be some Sinnoh pokemon in this story!**

 **I glad that you're enjoying my story! Maybe one day, it will grow to be like yours in regards to popularity (nah, that could never happen :))!**

 **And yeah, I do plan on adding another original pairing in my story. I've already told you what it is via PM, but I think I'll leave that unknown for now! ;)**

 **I'm delighted that you left such a lengthy review with a lot of content! It shows to me that you really poured out your thoughts: what you liked, what you didn't like, what you hope to see, etc. It tells me that you really read my story thoroughly, and I wish all my reviews could be like that!**

 **With that done, I'll move on to my story recommendations:**

 **One's Road to Remembrance by Insane Dominator – A Fairy Tail fanfiction about a boy named Craig Crius who lost his memories when he was 14. This story is full of action and laughs, so go check it out!**

 **To My Sweet Champion by Insane Dominator – This is a pokemon one-shot featuring another OC, who gets paired with Cynthia. It's also hilarious, so you guys should read it!**

 **The Kunoichi Twins by Sally B. Mcgill – An AU fanfiction where April and Karai are sisters and were separated at birth. Splinter has Karai while Shredder took April. Read it to find out more!**

 **Well, that's it for now. Remember to favorite, follow, and review! Sparky D., out!**


	3. First Team Mission

**Hello again, readers! I'm back with another chapter of The Fairy Tail Shapeshifter! I am SO sorry that this chapter is so late; my excuses are in my ending A/N.**

 **Let me just say right now, I'm skipping over the Daybreak Arc. For those of you who wanted to see it, I apologize, but that arc had no real significance, except maybe as a way to kick-start the Lullaby Arc. The only significant thing that happened was Lucy getting Virgo's Key, and even then, that didn't happen in that arc.**

 **Instead, I'll go straight into the Lullaby Arc, but not right away. Now, to answer the reviews from last chapter:**

 **Professor Writer: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

 **ahurtrojo1: Hmmm… looking at your list, I can confidently say that three of the pokemon will definitely be appearing in this story! Because I'm evil, though, I won't say which three! :D**

 **The others… eh, I'll see what I can do, but no promises.**

 **Batthan the Dark Knight: Thanks!**

 **lenz012696: Thanks a lot! As for your question… I'll leave you to continue reading to find out!**

 **Guest: Thank you! Continue reading to find out!**

 **Insane Dominator: Thanks for such a long review! Yeah, for grammar, I use a website called Grammarly; it's very useful for checking grammar and the like. I find this part of writing a chapter very important as bad grammar, punctuation, etc., makes it hard to read a story, and I don't want that!**

 **It won't always be one episode per chapter; in fact, this chapter breaks that trend. Trust me, there will definitely be some original arcs for Sparky to stand out! In fact, if I haven't already revealed it, the first one will be after the Galuna Island Arc. I do my best not to write everything word for word, but thanks for the reminder!**

 **I didn't want to drag things out for Sparky's explanation; I just wanted to get that part over with. Tony's fate will be revealed in time.**

 **I fully intend on Sparky honoring his word and fighting with Natsu; it may even come sooner than you think! I do have that fight already planned out.**

 **Yeah, I wanted to have Sparky have his guild mark somewhere unique, somewhere that hadn't been done before. Though, after I came up with the idea, I did read a fanfiction where someone had a guild mark there, but I decided to go ahead with it anyway.**

 **The climb up Mt. Silver was very difficult for me as well, though my fight against Red was even harder. I didn't make things easy for myself since I came with severely underleveled pokemon, only bordering on the 60s. I only won because I had about 80-something Revives. I didn't even beat his Charizard; I just let the hail do it for me (which, you can imagine, took quite a while)!**

 **Yeah, I thought Snorlax would be an interesting option for Sparky to have. The Thunderbolt that he can use is Snorlax's move, and it's not Snorlax's only long-range attack! As for his appetite and his advantage over Gray and Natsu… dang, are you in my head or something? Both of those are ideas I am planning to implement in my story, one of them in this chapter! Lucario was much more expected as one of his pokemon as it also can use aura just like he can, and he does have different options for battle.**

 **I made it so that all of the types of the six pokemon that Sparky has don't overlap; in other words, no two pokemon have the same type. So, his last two pokemon will not have any of the ones you mentioned. I'm not quite so evil, so I'll say that his last two are dual types and give you the types: Grass, Fire, Ghost, and Flying. I wonder if you can figure out who they are? :)**

 **Yeah, I wanted to make that little tidbit about Sparky's first pokemon mysterious, but all will be revealed in time! I kinda based Sparky's Aura Guardian abilities off of the ones shown in the 8** **th** **movie (and I'll admit some things from your stories also inspired me). Thank you again for a lengthy review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **With that done, time to move on to the story!**

* * *

Chapter 3 – First Team Mission

The next morning, Sparky woke up, ready for a new day.

The Guild Master had been generous enough to let the trainer sleep at the guild overnight, and had even provided him with some Jewel, which he learned was this world's currency. After taking a walk through town, he went to sleep, and once he woke up, he began doing what he did to start off his day: meditation.

This had become a routine ever since he had first received his aura training months ago. His teacher explained that meditation helped one learn how to concentrate, which in turn helped one to keep a cool, level head. This was instrumental when it came to aura control.

Since then, Sparky had taken to meditating every morning or whenever else he could. Sometimes, he wasn't able to in the morning, like yesterday, because Natsu was taking them to Fairy Tail and he didn't want to slow them down.

After a half hour of meditation, the blond teen got his bag and pulled out a couple of sandwiches to eat for his breakfast. Though he was allowed to stay in the guild, Sparky didn't want to use anything without permission, so he decided to eat his own food. Being a trainer, Sparky had to be prepared, so more often than not, he had food on hand, and now was no different.

However, once he finished ingesting his sandwiches, he immediately ran into a problem.

He was still hungry.

At first, the trainer didn't understand. He had never needed much food to satisfy his appetite, but now it felt like his hunger had hardly been quelled at all. Sparky wasn't sure what could've happened to make his appetite grow to be almost like his Snorlax's—

Then he put the pieces together.

One of the ways he replenished his aura was eating, as it filled him with energy. As he never needed much to eat, it didn't take much to complete that task. However, now that his pokemon were inside him, Sparky realized he was going to have to eat a lot more food to replenish _their_ energies, and apparently, his appetite had grown to fit.

With a sigh, the trainer got up and exited the guild, intending to find a place in town to eat. He reasoned to himself that as he didn't know Magnolia in the slightest, it might take a while, though…

* * *

As Sparky had suspected, it took him a while to find a good place to eat, though the upside was that it allowed him to get to know Magnolia a little better. It took him fifteen minutes to find a café, where he ended up spending half an hour and quite a bit of money to fill his stomach. After that, Sparky headed back to the guild.

Once he got back, he observed that most of his guildmates were now present, as was Makarov. "Ah, I see you've returned, Sparky," the old man said.

"Good morning, Master," the blond teen greeted as he sat down at the counter.

Makarov nodded in response. "So where did you go off to?"

"I just went to get something to eat," Sparky replied. "Is Natsu around?"

"No, he and Happy left some time ago," Makarov told him. "He said something about a job with a good reward that he needed Lucy's help with. He wanted to take you too, but he seemed too excited to wait around."

Sparky raised a brow, wondering why he needed Lucy in particular, but then he shrugged. "Do you know when he'll be back?" he inquired.

"The mission required them to destroy a book in a town that's not too far from Magnolia, so if there aren't any delays, then they should be back by tomorrow at the latest," the Guild Master answered.

Before Sparky could respond, the seats next to him were abruptly filled by Fairy Tail's resident stripper, as well as the heaviest drinker, the latter having a mug of booze in her hand. Gray spoke up first. "Sparky, right?" he asked, to which the blond nodded. "I was wondering; what exactly do you do as a Trainer?"

Sparky smiled at his inquiry. "As a Trainer, I travel all over the world, catching more pokemon to raise. With my pokemon, I battle other trainers to gain experience."

"You've been all over the world? I bet you've tried lots of different kinds of beer," Cana mused as she gulped down her drink.

The trainer blinked. "What? No, of course not. I'm not old enough to drink that stuff; I'm only 18." Sparky's response made Cana spit out her drink in shock, but he went on, undeterred. "Actually, I don't think my world has a lot of those kinds of drinks." Then he noticed the brunette gawking at him and tilted his head in perplexity. "What is it?"

"What kind of messed-up world doesn't have alcohol?!" she yelled.

Sparky seemed taken aback by her outburst. "W-Well, there are plenty of other kinds of drinks like milk, and soda pop, and juice!" he added hastily.

Cana just looked more and more aghast until finally she cried, "Just stop! I don't think I could survive in your world for a week!" And with that, she went back to drinking her booze with a bit more vigor, leaving the trainer mystified.

Noticing Sparky's confused expression, Gray spoke up. "Don't worry about her," he said. "Cana just can't go five minutes without pouring alcohol down her gullet."

The brunette in question heard his remark. "Well, you can't go five minutes without stripping!" she retorted.

"That's not true!"

"Oh yeah? Then where are your clothes?!"

The dark blue-haired wizard opened his mouth to argue when he realized that she was right; he was missing his clothes again. "Aw, crap!" he shouted, searching for his clothes while Cana smirked triumphantly.

Sparky chuckled at the scene before a new thought came to him. "Hey, what kind of Magic can you guys use?" he inquired.

Gray stopped what he was doing, though now he was only missing his shirt. "I use Ice Make Magic," he revealed, then demonstrated by placing a fist on his open palm and letting mist flow from his hands. "It's a type of Maker Magic that allows me to make objects made of ice for offensive and defensive purposes."

Cana reached into her bag and pulled out some cards to show the newest guildmate. "I specialize in Card Magic. I use cards to create a variety of attacks, including fire, water, lightning, and so on," she explained.

"Wow, that sounds pretty cool!" Sparky exclaimed. The three continued to chat for a while until three new people walked through the door: two guys being led by a short, blue-haired girl. They made their way over to the Request Board, where the girl expressed disappointment that someone had gotten to the book-stealing job before they did. After learning that it had been Natsu and that the reward had increased to an astonishing amount, the trio went to sit at the counter.

Once they had taken their seats, the blue-haired girl took notice of the trainer sitting nearby. "Oh, hey Sparky!" she greeted with a smile.

The teen looked up at the sound of his name being called and smiled back at the girl. "Hi!" His expression became inquisitive. "Um… not to be rude, but who are you?"

The girl kept smiling. "My name's Levy, and these two are Jet and Droy," she introduced herself before gesturing to the orange- and black-haired guys next to her. "Together, we make up Team Shadow Gear!"

"It's nice to meet you three!" Sparky grinned, then processed the last thing she said. "Wait, you're a team?"

"That's right! Sometimes, members of a guild can form teams to take on missions that may be too much for one person to handle," Levy explained.

Sparky thought back to the two times he and Natsu fought someone together. "Huh, I guess that makes sense," he mused.

Mirajane walked over with drinks for Team Shadow Gear. After serving them, she smiled at the blond teen. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone wanted to form a team with you," she said, making him rub the back of his head modestly.

"So, Sparky," Levy began, "I was hoping to learn more about pokemon. They seem like interesting creatures."

"They sure are!" the trainer agreed with a grin.

"So, exactly how many different kinds of pokemon are there? What kinds of abilities do they have?" the blue-haired girl questioned.

Sparky thought about her questions. "To answer your first question, there are over 1,000 different pokemon in my world."

Both Jet and Droy did a spit take as their eyes bulged out; Gray, Cana, and Mira didn't look any less shocked. "OVER 1,000!" they screamed.

Levy looked stunned too, but she pressed on. "And their abilities?"

"Well, that depends… are you asking what can they do, or are you referring to their actual Abilities?"

His question confused everyone. "What do _you_ mean by 'Abilities'?" Gray asked.

"In addition to their type, each pokemon has their own Ability, or a special power that can help them on or off the battlefield," Sparky explicated. "Some Abilities are exclusive to one pokemon, while sometimes, multiple pokemon can have the same Ability."

"So, Abilities can turn the tide in a battle if one side ends up backed into a corner, and every pokemon has one," Levy summarized.

"Exactly!"

"What is your Greninja's Ability?" Mira asked curiously.

Sparky's smile grew a bit wider as he thought about the answer to her question. "Well, Greninja is a Water-type starter. Under normal circumstances, Water-type starter pokemon have the Ability Torrent, which increases the power of Water-type moves when the pokemon's health is low."

"That sounds helpful when you're in a pinch," Cana commented.

"But you said 'under normal circumstances.' What do you mean by that?" the blue-haired girl inquired.

Sparky grinned as someone had caught on. "Normally, a Greninja would have the Ability Torrent; however, my Greninja is special because he has his Hidden Ability. Hidden Abilities are rare, not in the sense that the Ability itself is rare, but because the pokemon wouldn't normally have that Ability." He looked at Mirajane. "To answer your original question, Greninja's Ability is Protean."

"What does that do?" Droy asked.

"Protean changes the pokemon's type to match the attack it's about to use," the blond answered.

"How would that help in a fight?" Jet questioned.

"When a pokemon uses a move that's the same type as itself, the move increases in power. It's called STAB, or Same Type Attack Bonus. So by changing his type before he attacks…"

"… all of his attacks gain a power boost!" Levy finished.

"That sounds like a pretty useful Ability," Gray remarked.

Sparky smiled as he thought about his battles with Greninja in the past. "It's really gotten me out of a jam several times, that's for sure." Then he looked at Team Shadow Gear excitedly as he changed the subject. "So what kinds of Magic can you guys use?" he inquired.

After learning about their Magic, the group of seven continued talking for a while, until Gray got up to take a job from the Request Board. After selecting one, he started heading for the door, though Mirajane had to remind him that he was, again, only wearing his underwear. Afterward, the white-haired barmaid went back to serving people drinks.

Rather than head out as well, Sparky opted to remain at the guild and learn more about his guildmates. He spent the rest of the morning conversing with the other members of Fairy Tail, learning what kinds of Magic they wielded and answering any questions they had about pokemon.

Once the afternoon rolled around, the trainer was preparing to leave the guild to eat lunch, but Mira told him that she would serve up something for him free of charge since he was still fairly new.

After eating lunch and thanking Mira, Sparky stepped out of the guild hall and strolled through Magnolia before leaving town altogether, arriving in a forest nearby. Since he wasn't going on a mission, Sparky figured he may as well get some training in, for himself and his pokemon. It would also help him become more comfortable with using Magic.

With that in mind, the teen prepared himself for an intense workout.

* * *

Sparky opened his eyes and was surprised to see the sunrise. He looked around, noticing that the sky was somewhat dark but gradually getting brighter.

" _It's morning already?_ " Sparky thought in confusion as he tried to recall what happened. After he had trained his body, he used his Magic to transform into his pokemon so that he could train them, too. He remembered that after changing into four of his pokemon, he had started to feel faint, but he persevered long enough to change into his last two. The trainer realized he must have passed out from exhaustion.

" _So too much Magic use can lead to exhaustion,_ " Sparky deduced. He remembered personally explaining to his pokemon exactly what had happened to them, including the two who hadn't gotten to see things for themselves. It had also been nice to see his pokemon again face-to-face.

Now that he was awake, he decided to begin his morning meditation. Once 30 minutes had passed, the newest member of Fairy Tail stood up and headed into town to eat breakfast. After eating at the same café he ate at yesterday, Sparky walked back to Fairy Tail.

Upon entering the guild hall, he saw that Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had yet to return from their job, and Gray wasn't back either. Sparky took a seat at the counter, deciding to wait for them to return before attempting to take a job. He made conversation with anyone who came to talk to him and listened to the guild's shenanigans until finally, sometime after noon, the door opened and four figures treaded in.

Sparky turned around, already knowing who it was, and saw Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Gray enter the guild. The Dragon Slayer was the first to spot the trainer and made a beeline for him. "Hey, Sparky!" he called.

The aforementioned teen grinned back. "What's up, Natsu? How was your job?" he inquired.

"It was a blast!" Natsu exclaimed before he began to go into detail about their mission. He explained that the reason he needed Lucy was because the person they were required to steal the book from was looking to hire a blonde maid. Unfortunately, that plan failed as the man didn't find Lucy attractive (much to Sparky's confusion and Lucy's depression), so they broke in, instead. Natsu fought two mercenaries and a Celestial Spirit and won his fights with ease while Lucy took down the Duke with the help of a Spirit he hadn't met before named Cancer. Of course, in true Fairy Tail fashion, they ended up destroying the Duke's house, though that was mostly due to the Duke's Magic. Later, the blonde found a hidden message in the book that was really a letter from the author to the client, who was his son, so instead of destroying the book, they gave it to the client to keep, which resulted in them not getting paid. Not that it mattered, as the client didn't have the money since he was pretending to be rich.

Then the pink-haired teen told him about how the three of them ran into Gray on their way back and fought off some guys who tried to eat Happy. After beating them, though, they were dragged off by a shadow, but not before one of them gave a warning about something called Lullaby.

Sparky blinked. "Lullaby? That seems like a strange thing to warn someone about."

"Tell me about it. I don't know anything about what they were talking about," Natsu said as he slumped onto the countertop. "But what I do know is that I'm starving! We need to take another job."

"Aye!" the cat agreed, munching on a fish. "We need food money!"

"I bet we wouldn't have to worry about that if we had accepted the 2,000,000 Jewel reward," Lucy remarked before she started mumbling to herself. "I gotta remember that rent is due next week. I should find a job to do, too." And with that, she made her way over to the Request Board. Sparky decided to follow her to take another look at the board.

The blonde scrutinized the board, looking at the various requests that it had to offer and trying to choose one that would be suitable for her. "Finding a magic bracelet… lifting a spell on a cursed cane… reading someone's love horoscope… hunting a volcano demon?!"

"That one sounds promising," the trainer remarked.

"I had no idea there were so many different kinds of wizard jobs," Lucy said.

Mirajane walked up to them. "Just let me know if you find one that you're interested in. The Master's away at a conference, so I'm covering for him."

"What kind of conference?" Lucy inquired.

"One for Guild Masters. Every once in a while, they all gather together to talk about the state of things." Mira put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "It's like the Magic Council, but not…"

"Uh, what's the Magic Council?" Sparky questioned.

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't know who they are." She turned to a man with a very large, round belly. "Excuse me, Reedus, can I borrow your light pen?" After handing one to her, Mira started writing on the air itself, much to Sparky's surprise.

"Whoa, how are you doing that?" he asked.

Mirajane smiled at him. "This is a light pen. It allows people to write on air." She finished drawing a diagram with several boxes. "The Council, Era, is the most powerful organization in the magical world, only one step below the government. It has ten members and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations. When a wizard breaks a magical law, they would be tried by the Council."

"Oh, so they're like police officers in my world," Sparky noted. "They're in charge of catching criminals and putting them in jail for their crimes."

"I guess that's an accurate enough description." Mira gestured to the boxes that said "Local Guild Master League." "Then there are the different Guild Master leagues, which are local groups that work together. Then for the individual Masters, it's their job to pass on the decrees of the Council. They also communicate with other Guild Masters on a regular basis. I guess you could say they're the glue that holds us all together, which is a pretty stressful job," Mira concluded.

"Wow, I never realized that all the different magical guilds were interconnected like that," Lucy mused.

"It's important that we cooperate with one another, otherwise our system will fall apart," Mira said.

Suddenly, Natsu appeared behind them, using a flame to light his face ominously. "And then the guys in black would show up!" he said in a scary voice, causing Lucy to jump in fear, though Sparky was unaffected. He laughed at her reaction. "That was almost too easy!"

"Are you trying to scare me to death?!"

The trainer glanced at Natsu. "You'll have to do better than that if you wanna scare me."

"But seriously, the guys Natsu's talking about exist," Mirajane went on as she drew an oval with the words "Dark Guild" written inside. "They're the Dark Guilds. They've chosen not to join any of the leagues. They're the bad apples; most of them are involved in magical crime."

"Wow," Lucy breathed.

"Dark Guilds, huh?" Sparky muttered. "Unfortunately, my world's got organizations like that, too, and not just Team Galactic." He stared off into space bitterly as Natsu, Lucy, and Mira looked at him inquisitively, though Natsu was the first one to snap out of it.

"Why don't you go pick a job for us, Lucy?" he said.

The blonde glared at him. "You can't be serious; why would I want to do that?"

"Well, we are a team now, aren't we?" Natsu inquired.

"Yeah, and we picked the job last time! Sparky's still new to these things which makes it your turn to pick, so get to it!" Happy chimed in.

"Just forget it, cat!" Lucy said, crossing her arms and looking away. "As far as I'm concerned, our team has been disbanded. Besides, you guys didn't actually want me, you just needed me because I'm a blonde. And Sparky wasn't even with us last time!"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's not the only reason we chose you." The pink-haired teen grinned at her. "We picked you 'cause you're really nice!" Lucy's face turned a light shade of pink at that. "And we would have brought Sparky along, but we didn't know where he was and I wanted to get going right away! He's here now, so he can come with us this time!"

"Hey Lucy, Sparky," Gray called. "I wouldn't stay with those losers if I were you. You'll get plenty of offers from other teams."

"Your clothes, Gray," Cana said from next to him, making him freak out.

Natsu scoffed. "Jerk."

The ice wizard glared at him and swiftly got in his face. "Did you just call me a jerk, dragon boy?!" he shouted.

"So what if I did? What are you gonna do about it, frosty?!" the Dragon Slayer shouted back. The two then proceeded to throw insults at one another.

"Looks like they're at it again," Happy noted.

Loke went over to Lucy and started flirting with her. "Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy? Later tonight, just the two of us?"

"Say what?!"

"You're just so stunningly gorgeous," he went on. "I have to keep my shades on when I look at you, or I'll be blinded by your dazzling beauty." Light shone off of his glasses, which reflected Lucy's unimpressed expression.

"Girls really fall for this?" the blonde questioned.

Just then, the glasses-wearing teen spied the gold and silver keys attached to her belt. "Don't tell me you're a Celestial wizard!" he suddenly screamed, catching Lucy by surprise.

"Yep, she's got cows and crabs and stuff!" Happy put in, his voice muffled by the fish in his mouth.

"Let's not forget that mermaid and the grandfather clock," Sparky added.

"Curse you, fate, why must you mess around with me like this?!" Loke cried. He began speeding away from Lucy. "I'm sorry, but we can't be together, my dear!"

Lucy, Sparky, and Mira stared after him. "What got into him all of a sudden?"

"Loke has a bad history with Celestial wizards. Rumor has it that he dated one, and things didn't go so well," Mirajane answered.

"Well, I'm not surprised, he—" Lucy was cut off when Natsu abruptly crashed into her. The other two looked away from the retreating mage to turn back to her.

"That looked painful," Mira commented.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," the blond apologized.

"Would the two of you knock it off already?!" Lucy grumbled with a tick mark on her head.

"Natsu started it, I was just ending it," Gray countered.

"Where are your clothes?" Cana spoke up again, causing him to search around for them frantically.

Natsu hopped back to his feet. "You were the one provoking me, ya dirty slimeball!"

"Oh? And what did I do to provoke you, ya flaming idiot?!" Gray challenged.

The two started insulting each other once again until someone broke it up. "Alright, that's enough fighting for now." The two saw it was Sparky, and he was standing in between them.

"I'm not done with this pervert!" the Dragon Slayer screamed.

"Oh yeah, well I'm not done with you either, flame brain!" the dark blue-haired teen yelled back.

Sparky glowered at the two of them, and they felt a shiver run up their spines. "I said that's enough, got it?"

"G-Got it!" they said nervously.

His glare disappeared instantly and he smiled. "Good!" Then he walked away from them while the two stared at the trainer with disbelief, and they weren't the only ones. Pretty much everyone was staring at Sparky with some level of surprise.

"Wow Sparky, I wasn't expecting that from you at all," Lucy commented. Sparky blinked, then laughed a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah, I don't get like that often, but a few of my pokemon are actually just like these two. It kinda forced me to learn how to be assertive," he explained.

"Well, I've never seen someone stop those two from fighting except for Erza. She's usually the one to take care of it," Mirajane said.

Sparky stared at her inquisitively, but before he could say anything, Loke burst through the doors, looking even more terrified than before. "Bad news, everyone!" he shouted. "Erza's coming!"

It was like hearing that name flipped a switch, and abruptly, everyone went from calm and relaxed to horrified, even Natsu and Gray, except for three people. Mira was still smiling, Lucy looked nervous and slightly afraid, and Sparky looked puzzled. " _I get the feeling that I'll feel like this a lot,_ " he thought before asking, "Who's Erza?"

"Erza is another member of the guild. She's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail," Mira answered.

"That sounds impressive, but that doesn't really explain why everyone got so scared all of a sudden," the blond pointed out as he noted his guildmates' reactions.

The white-haired girl giggled. "Well, Erza can be a bit stern at times. It can be a little intimidating for everybody."

"How come you're not scared of her, then?"

"I don't find her scary at all; I think she's sweet!" Mirajane said with a bright smile. Sparky sweatdropped, but his curiosity had been piqued, nevertheless.

The sound of heavy thumping could be heard, and it continued to get closer as the mystery person approached the guild hall. Eventually, the trainer could make out a figure walking into the guild while carrying a gargantuan horn with one arm.

" _Whoa, she must be_ really _strong if she can carry something three times her height with total ease,_ " Sparky thought with awe as he focused on Erza.

The first thing about her that caught his eye was her hair.

It was long and scarlet, elegantly flowing down her back. She wore Heart Kreuz armor, a blue skirt, and black boots. Her intense brown eyes swept over the members of the guild as she set down the giant horn, which made a tremor when it touched the ground. "I have returned," she announced. "Where is Master Makarov?"

"Whoa, she's pretty!" Lucy said with a light blush.

Sparky was blushing, as well, as he agreed with the Celestial Mage. "Yeah…" She wasn't just pretty, she was beautiful! He wasn't blind; he could see that all of the female members of Fairy Tail were gorgeous, but this Erza person certainly took the cake, not that he would say that out loud.

"Welcome back, Erza! The Master's away at a conference right now," Mira informed her.

"I see."

"Hey Erza, what's that thing you've got there?" someone mustered up the courage to ask.

"It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The locals were so grateful that they decorated it up for me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?" Her voice took on a threatening tone as she asked that.

"No, ma'am!" he cried fearfully.

Sparky raised a brow. "She didn't have to threaten him. It sounded like a harmless enough question."

"That's Erza for ya!" Happy chimed in.

"Now listen up!" Erza said. "While I was on the road, I heard a few things. Word is, Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master may not care, but I most certainly do!" Then she proceeded to call out different people and reprimand them for their actions. When the redhead got to Macao, she just remained silent.

"Come on, say something!" he prompted.

"I don't even know where to begin with you," she sighed. "You've caused so much trouble, I've almost given up."

Lucy and Sparky watched from a distance. "She's really hammering into everyone, isn't she?" the former noted. "It's almost like she's taken over."

"Does she always give orders like this?" the trainer inquired.

Mira shook her head. "No, not always. It may not seem like it, but she really does care about the guild and its members."

" _I guess that remains to be seen,_ " Sparky thought as he watched Erza look around.

"Are Natsu and Gray here?" she asked.

Sparky looked around. "Natsu? It's been pretty quiet, so I don't think he's here anymo—" The blond teen trailed off when he spotted Natsu and Gray, and his eyes widened in surprise at what he was seeing.

The Dragon Slayer and the Ice Mage each had an arm over the other's shoulders and strained smiles on their faces. The two were also sweating buckets. "Here we are, just hanging out like good friends do!" Gray said nervously.

"Aye!" Natsu squeaked.

"Why is Natsu talking like Happy?!" Lucy cried.

"And why are they acting all buddy-buddy?" Sparky questioned. This was a stark contrast to what he witnessed yesterday and even just a few minutes ago. The trainer could tell that they didn't like doing this, but clearly their mutual dislike for one another was overshadowed by their fear for Erza. " _Could this woman really be that scary?_ "

Erza, on the other hand, seemed satisfied with their behavior. "That's good. It's very pleasing to see the two of you getting along. Of course, it is natural for even the best of friends to butt heads every now and then."

Gray sweatdropped. "I'm not sure I'd say we're the best of friends," he replied.

"Aye!" the pink-haired Dragon Slayer said.

"What's gotten into Natsu?!" Lucy shouted.

"Gray, too. They both seem terrified," Sparky observed.

"They are," Mirajane responded as she drew a picture with the light pen: one of Erza standing over a defeated Natsu. "A few years back, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and she beat him pretty badly."

"That was a stupid thing to do!" the blonde mage said.

Sparky sighed. "It sure sounds like something Natsu would do."

"After that, she found Gray walking around without any clothes on, so she decided to beat him up, too," Macao revealed.

"And let's not forget the time she beat up Loke for hitting on her, though he kinda had it coming," Cana added.

"Can't say I blame her," Lucy said.

Just then, Erza started speaking again. "Natsu, Gray, I need a favor from you. While I was on the road, I heard something that worried me. Normally, I would consult with the Master, but he's away and this is a matter of utmost importance. You two are the strongest wizards here. I could really use your help."

There were gasps all around as people whispered to one another, though no one seemed more stunned than the two people the redhead was addressing. " _Me and Natsu?_ " Gray thought.

" _On the same team?_ " Natsu thought.

Sparky noted the surprise in the room and frowned in confusion. "I don't understand. What's the big deal? She's only asking for help."

"Erza's really powerful, even more so than Natsu and Gray, and she usually handles things herself. It's a bit of a shock to see her ask for help," Mira explained.

The trainer's frown seemed to get deeper as he folded his arms and looked away. "No one is powerful to take on everything all by themselves. Take it from me." His statement made Lucy and Mira stare at him briefly before exchanging looks of perplexity.

"Meet me at the train station tomorrow morning," Erza instructed them. "I'll explain everything then." And with that, she hefted up her giant horn and treaded out of the building.

Lucy stared after her. "I wonder what the big emergency is. She sounded really urgent."

"Yeah… Natsu, Erza, and Gray will definitely make a powerful team, but what worries me is that Natsu and Gray will get into fights when Erza isn't paying attention," Mirajane mused. She thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Oh, I know! Sparky?" The white-haired girl turned to the trainer, who seemed to have snapped out of his somber mood and was looking at her curiously. "Why don't you go along with them?"

Both blonds were surprised at her suggestion, to say the least. "Me? But Erza didn't invite me," Sparky said.

"I know, but this sounds important, so she may need all the help she can get. Natsu and Gray are going to be at each other's throats whenever Erza's not around, and you're the only other person who can keep them in check and make sure they cooperate. Besides, Erza doesn't know who you are or how strong you are. Otherwise, I'm sure she would've asked you!"

Sparky still seemed unsure. "I don't know…"

"You'll even have Lucy to help you out if you need it," Mira added.

"Wait, what?!" the Celestial Mage in question cried.

"Well… okay, I'll go," Sparky decided. "You're right; this is urgent, so I want to help in any way I can. I'm going to go prepare for the journey. See you tomorrow, Lucy." He walked off while Mira went back to doing her job, leaving the blonde gawking in disbelief at what just happened.

"Did that seriously just happen…?" she questioned.

Behind the counter, while Mira collected more drinks to serve to the guild, she thought to herself, " _Natsu, Gray, Erza, and even Sparky… those guys may end up being the strongest team in Fairy Tail!_ "

* * *

The next morning at the train station, lots of people were walking about, waiting to take a train to get to their destinations. It was peaceful, but the peace didn't last very long; in fact, it was quickly broken by the sound of someone shouting in anger.

"I hate this! Teaming up with you is the worst idea ever!" Natsu screamed.

The person he was yelling at was, of course, none other than Gray, who was shouting back at him. "Yeah, tell me about it! Erza made a big mistake asking a loser like you come along!"

"Fine, then you can handle this yourself! I didn't want to go anyway!"

"Sounds good to me! Then I can watch her beat you senseless!"

Lucy, Happy, and Sparky were sitting off to the side and watching the argument between the two. Actually, only Happy was watching; Lucy was staring down in embarrassment and Sparky was sitting in a meditative position with his eyes closed. He had been like that since he had first arrived, which was before anyone else, almost half an hour ago. Lucy had summoned Plue and was holding the little dog Spirit in her arms.

"Let's just sit here and pretend we don't know them," Lucy decided.

"Why did you decide to come along anyway?" the blue cat inquired.

"Mira asked me to after she told Sparky that I would," she revealed.

Happy looked back at the two bickering wizards. "You don't seem to be doing your job very well."

"They're hopeless. I'll just leave them to Sparky when he comes to." She had arrived to find Sparky in the same position he was currently in. The Celestial Mage tried getting his attention but he didn't seem to hear or notice her. Once she finished speaking, however, the teen in question let out a sigh and opened his eyes.

"Well, that's done," Sparky said. He noticed that everyone else had arrived except for Erza, though he had known that while he was meditating. In fact, he could sense that Erza was approaching the train station.

Then he noticed that Natsu and Gray were yelling at each other. " _Looks like Mira was right,_ " he thought as he stood up and walked over to them. He pushed the two apart. "Come on, guys, stop fighting. Today, we're supposed to be working together; can't you just manage that?"

"No way!" they yelled.

Sparky sighed. "Well, I'll let you guys be, then." Lucy gazed at him in shock as he started walking away from them. After he took a few steps, he suddenly turned around and said, "Oh, by the way, Erza's coming."

Everyone stared at him in confusion, wondering how he could possibly know that when she wasn't even in sight, but then they started when they abruptly heard Erza's voice calling out to them. "Sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?"

Lucy turned to answer her while everyone else stared at Sparky, who grinned at their reactions, in shock. "No, not really," she answered. Then she got a good look at what was trailing behind the scarlet-haired warrior, and her shock increased.

"Wow! Look at that luggage!" Happy exclaimed.

"Is all that yours?!" Lucy cried.

"Why would she need so much stuff?" Sparky wondered quietly.

Upon realizing that Erza really was here, Natsu and Gray swiftly put their arms around each other's shoulders. "It's time to go, good buddy!" Gray shouted.

"Aye!"

"One Happy is enough, Natsu!" the Celestial wizard shouted in annoyance.

Erza smiled at the sight. "I really love to see you two getting along." She turned to the two newest members. "And what are your names? I think I saw you two at the guild yesterday."

Sparky grinned, finding this side of Erza to be much more pleasant than the one he saw yesterday. "I'm Sparky!" he answered.

"My name's Lucy," the blonde introduced herself. "We both joined Fairy Tail recently. Mira asked us to come along to learn a couple of things."

"She also wanted me to keep an eye on Natsu and Gray," the trainer added, looking behind Erza to see the two mages glowering at each other. He sighed again.

"I hope that's okay with you," Lucy finished.

"Don't worry, it's fine. The more the merrier," the redhead said. She noticed Sparky looking behind her and turned around, only to see Natsu and Gray pretending to be friends again. Once she looked away, though, they went back to glaring at each other. "Wait a moment, I've heard about you two. You're the girl who beat some gorilla mercenary using nothing more than your pinky finger." She looked at Sparky. "And you apparently helped out by summoning these strange animals to assist her." Lucy looked dumbfounded while Sparky's face scrunched up in thought. "It'll be great to have wizards like you two here to help out."

"That's not quite what transpired…" the trainer said as he remembered his fight on Mt. Hakobe.

"Hey, Erza," Natsu spoke up. "I'll come with you, but only under one condition."

"Shut up!" the ice wizard growled.

The armored wizard gazed at Natsu inquisitively. "Oh? Well, let's hear it."

The Dragon Slayer held up a fist. "I want a rematch once we get back to the guild!" he challenged.

Lucy and Sparky seemed surprised while Gray said, "What's the matter with you? Do you have a death wish or something?"

"I'm a lot stronger than the last time we fought," Natsu went on, ignoring Gray. "This time will be way different, because I'm going to beat you!"

Erza had her head down as she pondered over his request. "Yes, I can tell you've improved. As to whether or not you can defeat me… I guess we'll find out." She raised her head and smirked at Natsu. "I accept your challenge."

"That sounds like a fight worth watching," Sparky remarked.

"Oh yeah! I'M FIRED UP!" the Dragon Slayer screamed as his head caught fire.

* * *

Sometime later, their train pulled into the station, and upon boarding and departing to their destination, Natsu's inferno had simmered down to nothing but embers as motion sickness kicked in.

"Man, Natsu, you're so pathetic. One minute, you're picking a fight, and the next, you're like this," Gray said from the seat next to the window.

"It's gotta be tough for him to get from place to place," Lucy commented from the seat across from the dark blue-haired teen.

Sparky was sitting next to Gray, while Happy sat in between him and the Dragon Slayer. "Too bad you can't walk or have Happy fly you everywhere you need to go," the blond teen said.

"Don't worry, Natsu will be fine," Erza assured. "Why don't you come over here and sit next to me, Natsu?"

"Aye…" he agreed weakly. He managed to get up and switch spots with Lucy.

"Now just relax," the redhead instructed, holding Natsu close to her. Then, in one swift movement, she punched him in the stomach so hard that he immediately fell unconscious.

"Uh, don't you think that was a little extreme?" Sparky questioned with wide eyes.

"It's only so that he won't have to suffer the whole trip," Erza explained.

Sparky looked back at the unconscious Dragon Slayer in shock, though he couldn't really deny that her move _was_ effective.

"Erza, I think it's time to fill us in," Gray said. "I mean, what kind of mission are we going on?"

"Of course. I have reason to believe that the Dark Guild Eisenwald is planning something big. I don't know what it is, but it has something to do with a magic item called Lullaby," Erza explicated.

"Lullaby?" Gray and Happy repeated in surprise.

"Wait, that thing from before?" Lucy asked.

"So you've heard of it before," the redhead noted.

"Just them. I wasn't there when they ran into those guys," Sparky told her. Then they explained to Erza what had happened yesterday before she arrived at the guild.

"I see," she said. "So you've run into the Eisenwald guild before."

"Well, I'm not certain they were from Eisenwald, but they did mention Lullaby," the ice wizard replied.

"It sounds like they were members who had dropped out of the guild and went into hiding," Erza mused. "Perhaps they want no part in whatever's coming."

Sparky's brow furrowed. "Whatever that may be, but it definitely can't be anything good."

"So this thing is so bad, it even scares dark wizards?" Gray questioned.

"I'm only hypothesizing, but whoever you saw dragging off Happy's kidnappers was most likely from Eisenwald," Erza said. "It's obvious that they didn't want their plans getting out."

"What do you think they're going to try?" the blonde inquired.

Erza closed her eyes. "Let me start from the beginning. Just the other day, I was heading home after completing a job. I stopped by a pub in Onibas that I knew was a gathering spot for local wizards…"

 _Flashback-_

 _With her luggage and her giant horn resting outside the building, Erza sat down at the counter with a mug in her hand. She simply relaxed, letting the stress from her mission fade away._

" _Come on, hurry it up, bartender!" someone called out loudly._

" _Hey, just relax a little, would you?" another person addressed him._

" _And how am I supposed to do that?" The scarlet-haired warrior glanced over her shoulder at a table with four men sitting at it. "We finally managed to figure out where Lullaby's hidden, but we can't do anything! Because of some seal?"_

" _Keep it down, man," the third man warned._

" _Don't sweat it, you guys. Let me handle this," the final guy said, standing up. "You just head back to the guild, alright?"_

" _You sure, Kage?" the third man asked._

" _Are you gonna be okay on your own?" the second person questioned._

 _The man named Kage smiled. "You don't have to worry about me. Just tell Erigor that I'll be coming back with Lullaby in three days." And with that, he stepped out of the pub._

 _Flashback end_

"Lullaby… Isn't that supposed to be a song that puts kids to sleep?" Sparky inquired.

Erza nodded. "Yes, and the fact that it had been sealed away means it must be very powerful magic."

"You sure the guys you saw at the pub were with Eisenwald?" the ice wizard asked.

"Yes…" she answered. "I can't believe I was such a fool that day. I didn't recognize his name. Erigor, the ace of Eisenwald… He only accepts assassination requests, which is why he's earned the nickname 'Erigor the Reaper.'"

Lucy's eyes widened in horror. "He kills for money?!"

"That's despicable!" Sparky shouted.

"When the Council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important than the Council's rules," Erza went on. "As a result, they were kicked out of their wizard's league 6 years ago. But that didn't stop them. They disobeyed rules and continued to remain active to this day."

Lucy began sweating nervously. "Okay, I think I should head back now."

"Lucy's slimy all of a sudden!" Happy teased.

"It's sweat!"

Erza banged her fist down, unintentionally hitting Natsu's face. "How could I have been so careless? If only I had recognized Erigor's name that day, I could've pulverized them and forced them to reveal their plans to me!"

"There's no need to get angry at yourself," Sparky spoke up with a smile. "You may not have realized it then, but you've realized it now, and now you're taking action! We'll be sure to stop Eisenwald from doing whatever it is they're doing!" Erza stared at him with slight surprise before she smiled as well.

"So just to clarify, from what you heard, Eisenwald's up to something bad, and you want us to help you stop them," Gray said.

"Precisely. I'm not foolish enough to think that I can take on an entire magical guild on my own, which is why I asked you and Natsu for help. We're storming the Eisenwald Guild."

Gray smirked. "Sounds like fun to me."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Wouldn't be the first time I've done something like this," the trainer said with a grin. "Count me in!"

Lucy, however, was still terrified. "I shouldn't have come along!"

"Ew, now you're really slimy!"

"I told you, it's sweat!"

Afterward, the train made a stop at the next station, where the group of five (as Natsu was still unconscious) took the opportunity to grab some food to eat. They got back on the train and took their seats once more as it started moving again. Lucy, Gray, and Sparky were munching on some sandwiches while Happy nibbled on a fish and Erza ate a slice of strawberry cake.

The Celestial Mage was the first to speak. "Hey, Erza. If you don't mind, what kind of Magic do you use?"

"That's a very good question," the redhead said.

"Erza's Magic is really pretty!" Happy chimed in. "She makes her enemies bleed, a lot!"

"I don't know if I'd call that pretty," Lucy deadpanned.

Sparky looked down at the cat. "You are one strange cat," he said before turning to Erza next. "But I still can't wait to see it!"

Erza smiled at him in response before saying, "Personally, I think Gray's Magic is much more beautiful than mine."

Lucy looked to the dark blue-haired mage, who placed a fist in his palm. "Like this?" A small magic circle appeared as mist flowed from his hands. When he removed his fist, a perfect replica of the Fairy Tail insignia could be seen. "I use Ice Magic," he revealed, impressing Lucy and Sparky. Though the latter had already been aware of it, he was finally seeing it in action.

"Now I understand why you and Natsu don't get along! He's fire and you're ice. Talk about not mixing very well!"

"Yep, those two elements in particular never seem to like cooperating," Sparky added.

"I never thought of it like that," Erza mused.

Gray simply shrugged. "Nah, I just hate his guts."

The Celestial Mage turned to Sparky next. "Hey Sparky, I was wondering…"

"Yeah, what's up?" he inquired as he faced her.

"What was that attack you used on Mt. Hakobe? You said it wasn't Magic. Also, how are you able to tell whenever someone's around when they're not in sight, like when you knew Erza was coming?"

Erza and Gray gazed at the trainer in surprise. "You don't use Magic?" the redhead questioned.

"Well, actually, I can now. It's kind of complicated…" Sparky answered. "To answer your question, Lucy, it's not Magic. It's called aura."

"What's aura?" she asked. The other three looked interested as well.

"Aura is the essence that every living being has," Sparky explained. "Very few people can actually wield it like I can. Anyone who can is known as an Aura Guardian."

"So what can Aura Guardians do?" Erza inquired.

"A bunch of stuff," the blond replied. "For starters, they can sense the auras of other people, so long as they're in range. They can also see their surroundings, even when blinded."

Gray's eyes widened. "So you don't need your eyes to see?"

"Not necessarily," Sparky said. "That ability is useful when in dark spots or large maze-like places, but it's not the only thing I can do. When in combat, I can use my aura for both offense and defense."

"How would that work?" Happy asked.

Sparky held up a hand, his palm facing upward. "I can create barriers to block attacks coming from any direction, and when I want to attack, I just form one of these…" His palm started to glow and, before the stunned eyes of the group, formed a shining azure ball of aura.

"That's the same attack you used against the Vulcan!" Lucy exclaimed.

The trainer nodded. "This is my Aura Sphere technique, my go-to attack when it comes to long-range fighting." He dispelled the sphere. "I have other attacks I use, but I can't really demonstrate here, so I'll save them for when we reach the Eisenwald Guild."

The other four were still stunned. Erza spoke up. "Where did you learn to use aura? And how come nobody has ever heard of it before?"

"I've had my aura abilities all my life, but I've only ever started to use them after I started my journey. It came and went until I traveled to the Sinnoh region and found someone to teach me to use it. He trained me in the ways of aura for a few months before I continued on with my journey. It's an incredibly rare ability to have, even in my world, and probably even more so in this world since everyone uses Magic instead."

The scarlet-haired warrior was even more mystified at his answer. "What? What do you mean 'your world?' And what is this Sinnoh region you speak of?"

"Well, that's where things get kinda complicated…" Sparky went on to divulge where he was from: a whole different world with pokemon instead of Magic. He explained a bit about his world and the circumstances that brought him to Earthland, as well as some of the things he had already done upon ending up on Fiore.

Suffice to say that Erza was astonished to hear all of this. "A creature that can rip through dimensions? That sounds unreal."

"Well, it's totally real," Sparky said. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but that's what happened. You weren't there, but I've already told the rest of the guild a few days ago."

Gray nodded in confirmation. "He's telling the truth."

"Aye!" Happy added.

Erza wasn't sure what to make of his story, but if he really did tell the guild, then the Master must have believed him and still allowed to hang around. Plus, he seemed like a nice person who genuinely wanted to help her. She decided to let him be. "Then… I suppose I look forward to seeing you fight," she said with a smile, making the trainer grin back.

A few minutes later, the train pulled into Onibas Station and stopped, letting its passengers off, which included the group from Fairy Tail. "You think the guys from Eisenwald are still going to be in this town?" the ice wizard inquired.

"I have no idea," Erza answered honestly, pulling her luggage along. "That's what we're here to find out."

"I'm still thinking that maybe I should head home," Lucy said.

Sparky was looking around in confusion. "Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like we're forgetting something?"

Everyone turned to him, perplexed, until Happy spoke up. "Wait a minute, where's Natsu?" The train whistle blew, reminding everyone just where the Dragon Slayer was.

They rushed back to the platform, only to watch in shock as the train left the station with their guildmate onboard. "Yep, that was it," Sparky muttered.

"We were so busy talking that I forgot about him!" Erza shouted. "I'm such a fool! Natsu hates all forms of transportation! This is all my fault; I need one of you to hit me for my penance!"

"Whoa, no need to overreact, Erza," the blond teen said. "We all forgot about him, not just you, so it's not your fault. I'll just go after the train and retrieve him." He turned in the direction of the train.

"How are you going to catch up to the train?" Lucy asked.

Sparky smirked at her. "All of my pokemon are pretty fast." Then his smirk disappeared as he thought about that. "Well, except for Snorlax. He's not really built for speed." He focused his Magic and a seal appeared under his feet. Once the light from the seal faded, a familiar pokemon, at least to Lucy and Happy, was standing in the trainer's place.

"Oh, I remember this pokemon! You're Lucario, right?" the blue cat said.

The canine nodded. " **That is correct. Now…** " His body glowed brightly, the white light almost blinding. " **Extreme Speed!** " Then, in the next instant, he was gone; the only indication he had been there was the gust of wind that blew through the group.

"Holy crap! That _was_ fast!" Gray exclaimed.

"Aye. We met that pokemon at Mt. Hakobe, but we only saw him heal Macao's injuries," Happy put in. "We haven't seen what he can do in a fight."

Erza gazed in the direction the pokemon had run off in. " _Sparky… just what exactly are you capable of?_ " she wondered.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the train, Natsu had regained consciousness, which meant that he was once again suffering from his motion sickness. As he sat there, the door opened and a man walked in. Had Natsu been conscious and paying attention to Erza's story, he would have known that this man was Kage, one of their enemies. "Well lookie here, it's a Fairy Tail wizard," he noted. "How's the guild treating you these days? Is it worth sticking around?"

"What?" the pink-haired teen muttered, only to end up with a foot planted in his face.

"Don't act all high and mighty just because you're in a legal guild, fairy! You guys who just blindly follow the Magic Council, you know what you look like to us? Harmless little flies!" Kage taunted. Natsu glowered at him in response; at once, he stood up and ignited his fists, making Kage step back. "Whoa, guess I hit a nerve."

"You…" Natsu growled, but stopped to hold back vomit when the train's motion made his motion sickness flare up. The flames on his fists sizzled out.

The black-haired man laughed. "What kind of Magic was that? How about I show you how it's done!" A Magic circle appeared at his feet, and his shadow swiftly stretched out and landed multiple uppercuts on the Dragon Slayer, who hit the ground hard. "It's all in the follow through."

Natsu struggled to get up. "That Magic…"

Outside, Sparky was slowly catching up to the train car he sensed Natsu was in. He could sense another person in the car with him, and the person didn't feel friendly. As he got closer, he noticed that the train's brakes suddenly activated, and the train skidded to a stop.

Sparky began to slow down slightly. " _Someone must have stopped the train back at the station,_ " he thought.

" _ **Most likely one of your friends,**_ " Lucario mused.

This was something else he learned during his training a couple of days ago. Whenever he turned into one of his pokemon, he could still communicate with them outside of their mindscape, like the first time he used it with Pikachu. Of course, while he could talk with them both verbally and mentally, he was the only one who could hear them speak back to him.

" _I guess they're doing what they can to help, too,_ " Sparky thought as he approached the train car. Just as he was about to find a way inside, a huge explosion rocked the car. The Aura Pokemon raised a barrier on reflex to protect himself. " _Of course, now that the train has stopped, Natsu's not holding anything back._ "

Jumping into the destroyed car, Lucario spotted Natsu standing a few feet away from Kage, who was on the ground after barely managing to block the brunt of the Dragon Slayer's attack. "Lucky shot," he growled.

Natsu held up his fist and smirked. "Little fly, you said?"

" **Natsu! Are you alright?** " Lucario called. Natsu turned to face him.

"Oh, Sparky! I remember this guy; his name's Lucario, right?"

The jackal nodded. " **What happened?** "

"This jerk showed up out of nowhere and attacked me!" the pink-haired teen exclaimed, gesturing to Kage. Sparky turned his sights to the black-haired man, managing to catch a glimpse of the three-eyed flute he put back in his coat. Before he could comment on that, a voice started speaking on the intercom.

"Attention passengers, our emergency stop was a false alarm. We will be departing again shortly."

"Aw crap, I've gotta go!" Natsu said, rushing to grab his backpack.

"Hey, stop right there! I'm not letting you go that easily!" Kage declared. "You're messing with Eisenwald now!"

Natsu glared at him while Sparky's eyes widened. " **You're with Eisenwald?!** " the pokemon shouted.

Having been unconscious for the whole trip, Natsu didn't understand the significance of that statement. "Why don't we take this outside, and I'll show you what happens to people who mess with Fairy Tail!" Unfortunately, before anyone could do anything else, the train started moving again, causing the Dragon Slayer's motion sickness to flare up again.

" **Natsu! Grrr…** " Sparky wanted to take on Kage himself, but he couldn't do that and watch over Natsu in case the dark wizard tried to target him. He decided the best course of action now was to regroup with the rest of his guildmates. " **Come on, Natsu, we'll have to settle this score later,** " he said, grabbing hold of the other teen. He turned to glare at Kage. " **As for you… we'll stop whatever it is your guild has planned,** " he promised. With that, he leaped out of the train, leaving an astounded Kage behind.

Once on the ground, Sparky heard the screeching sound of tires coming to a stop. Looking to his left, he spotted Erza driving a strange-looking vehicle with Gray, Lucy, and Happy riding inside and, in the former's case, on top. The four left their ride and rushed over to the two who were now off the train. Sparky placed the pink-haired Dragon Slayer down and changed back to himself.

"Are you alright, Natsu?" Lucy asked once they got close enough.

Now that he was on solid ground, Natsu was more than alright, and he let that be known. "WHAT THE HECK, GUYS?! WHY'D YOU LEAVE ME ON THE TRAIN?!"

"Yep, he's alright," the trainer answered.

"We're sorry for that, Natsu," Erza spoke. "I'm thankful that you aren't badly injured." She hugged his head to her chest, though with her strength, it was more painful than comfortable. The two newest members winced at the sight.

"It's okay!" Natsu groaned in pain. He continued speaking after she released him. "Well, I'm not injured, but I'm a little shaken up. I got attacked by a weirdo on the train!"

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked.

Sparky nodded, his face grim. "Yeah, and you won't believe who it was."

"I think it was the guy who dragged away the dudes who were going to eat Happy," Natsu said. "He said he was with Eisenwald."

Erza's eyes widened, and suddenly she slapped Natsu in the face, catching everybody by surprise. "You fool! That is exactly who we're chasing after on this mission! Why did you let him get away?!"

"What the—This is the first I'm hearing about this!" Natsu said, completely clueless.

"I explained everything on the train! Why don't you listen when people are talking to you!"

"Actually, Erza, you knocked Natsu out so that he wouldn't suffer from his motion sickness before you began telling us about the mission," Sparky corrected her.

The redhead blinked before she bowed her head. "Oh, you're right! I'm so sorry, Natsu! Please strike me for my penance!"

"Uh, that's fine, Erza, I forgive you…" the pink-haired teen said nervously.

Sparky blinked as he watched the armored wizard walk back to the car, finding her to be a bit weird, but also amusing. He also found this part of her kinda cute.

Erza placed the plug back onto her wrist as she prepared to drive again. "So he was on the same train that we were on," she said. "Let's make haste and find him!" She started up the vehicle.

The trainer eyed the car curiously. "What kind of car is that?" he inquired.

"It's a Magic Mobile," Gray explained. "It runs by draining a person's Magic through that plug, called an SE Plug."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Only if you use too much Magic." The ice wizard turned to Natsu. "So what was this guy like?"

"He didn't look like somebody from a Dark Guild," the Dragon Slayer answered, "but he had this creepy-looking flute. It looked like a skull with three eyes."

"It was pretty strange," Sparky added.

"A three-eyed skull?" Lucy repeated.

"That _is_ creepy," Gray remarked.

Happy noted the Celestial Mage's reaction. "Is there something wrong, Lucy?" he asked.

"It's just… I've heard about that flute before. Lullaby… the cursed song…" Her head snapped up, a serious expression on her face. "It's Death Magic!"

Everyone was shocked. "What?" Erza said.

"A cursed song? Like an incantation?" Gray questioned.

"I've only ever read about them in books before, but… there are some deadly spells out there that are forbidden to be used by wizards," Lucy said.

"That's right," the scarlet-haired warrior affirmed. "There are cursed Black Magic spells that will kill the person they're used on."

"Well, if I'm right, Lullaby is even worse," Lucy went on.

* * *

Further down the tracks at Kunugi Station, civilians screamed in terror as they watched a white-haired man with markings on his body and wielding a scythe kill one of the station's workers. This man was Erigor the Reaper. "This train belongs to Eisenwald now!" he declared. He began instructing his men. "Get everything off the train – luggage, the conductor, all of it. If anyone tries to resist, then kill them."

As the dark wizards carried out his orders, Kage stepped out of one of the train cars. "Well, look who's here," he said.

Erigor glanced over his shoulder. "Kageyama." He turned to face him fully. "I heard you were coming back aboard this train. There's quite a bit of wreckage; would you care to explain what happened?"

"Come on, aren't you interested in seeing what I brought back with me?" the black-haired man asked, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out the three-eyed flute. "I finally managed to break the seal!"

"Excellent." Erigor smirked.

"Oh yeah!" one of the members exclaimed.

"Is that it?" another man inquired.

"Yes, this is it, men. The forbidden Lullaby," Erigor answered. "Originally, it was a tool for casting simple death curses; useful but limited. At least until the great Black Wizard Zeref transformed it into a demon flute. Now its song will kill hundreds, thousands at once, lulling them all into endless sleep. And it's all mine!"

* * *

The Magic Mobile moved at top speed, bumping up and down the rocky terrain, with Erza as the driver. Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray rode inside while Sparky was on the roof of the vehicle. "Slow down, Erza! You're using up too much of your power driving this thing!" Gray called through the open window.

"I have no choice but to press onward!" the redhead shouted back. "We're running out of time! If Erigor gets his hands on this Death Magic, then there's no doubt that people will die!" With that, she continued to push the Magic Mobile as fast as it could go. " _Curse them. What is it they hope to accomplish?_ " she wondered. " _This is madness!_ "

Sparky watched her drive from the roof, an expression of worry on his face. He knew she was right; they had to hurry if they wanted to stop Eisenwald, but if she exhausted herself, then she wouldn't be much help when they encountered the Dark Guild. He hoped that they would catch up to them soon.

* * *

While this was going on, in Clover Town, the Guild Masters were still having their meeting in the conference hall. "Oh, Maky! I'm so jealous! Your wizards are so lively and they're such cutie pies!" a man exclaimed. He had on very strange attire for a man, though: a dress, boxer shorts, high heels, and makeup. This was Bob, the Guild Master of Blue Pegasus. "I hear you got a girl that gave some big-shot quite the spanking!"

"You must be talking about Lucy," Makarov said. "Yeah, she's one of our newest recruits, and she's got a body that won't quit!"

"Oh, so naughty!" Bob said.

"I wouldn't be joking around if I were you, Makarov," someone else spoke up. He wore sunglasses and a black hat. He had on a blue shirt and black pants. Around his neck was a spiked dog collar, and a matching collar was around his hat, as well. His name was Goldmine, and he was the Guild Master of Quatro Cerberus. "Your wizards may be spirited, but even you have to admit that they can go overboard. Some of the Council members worry that Fairy Tail may end up destroying a city one day. Can't say that I blame them."

"Aw, let those blowhards worry, what do I care? They're just jealous my wizards are hot!" the old man shouted.

Just then, a small bird flew toward them, clutching an envelope in its talons. "Master Makarov! Master Makarov! I have a letter from Miss Mirajane!"

"Hey, thanks," the Guild Master in question said as the bird dropped the envelope into his hand.

"No problem!" The bird flew away. Makarov opened the envelope, which cast a Magic circle that projected an image of Mirajane, who was smiling brightly.

"Hi, Master! I'm glad you made it to the conference safely!" she said.

"Take a look at this! This honey's our poster girl, Mirajane. Grab some eye candy, boys!" Makarov held the envelope out for everyone else to see; he was met with catcalls and approving murmurs as everybody liked what they were seeing.

The projection of Mira continued speaking. "Oh Master, you won't believe what happened! It might be the greatest thing in the history of Fairy Tail!"

"Oh?"

"Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Sparky have all teamed up together! What an amazing combination, wouldn't you agree? In fact, I think they may have formed the strongest team Fairy Tail has ever seen! Sorry to bother you, but I just had to send you a quick message to tell you the exciting news! See you soon, Master!" Then her image faded away as the message ended.

However, if Mirajane had seen the old man's face, she would have known that he didn't find the news very exciting. The Guild Master of Fairy Tail was utterly horrified at what he had just heard, and he was sweating profusely. "Not… those… four," he muttered.

"What's wrong, Maky? Who's this Sparky person that she mentioned?" Bob inquired.

"It seems the Council has good reason to be worried, am I right?" Goldmine said. Makarov didn't answer; instead, he just fell down onto his back.

" _I can't believe this is happening! Natsu, Gray, and Erza could destroy an entire city, but I still don't know how destructive Sparky and his pokemon could be!_ " Makarov thought." _The conference ends today, so I can be back in Fairy Tail by tomorrow afternoon. I just hope nothing crazy happens between now and then. Please let nothing happen!_ "

* * *

It didn't take long before they reached the next stop, Kunugi Station. While Eisenwald was unfortunately not there anymore, there was a large crowd of people gathered around, along with some Rune Knights. The voices coming from the crowd were loud enough that the Fairy Tail group could hear what people were saying; they had been talking about how a Dark Guild had taken over the train.

"I can understand cars and boats, but why would they want to hijack a train?" Lucy wondered.

"It doesn't seem like a good choice for getting away since it can only follow the tracks it's on," Happy agreed.

"That's true, but they are quite fast," Erza put in.

"They must have something else in mind," Sparky mused.

Natsu couldn't say anything as he was still motion sick. "I guess it's up to us to figure out where exactly they're going in such a big hurry and why," Gray remarked, not wearing any clothes again.

"Gray, you're naked!" Lucy screamed.

"Am I?" he said calmly.

The trainer took note of the Rune Knights that were at the station. "The army's here, so hopefully someone will be able to catch them before we get the chance," he noted.

"I hope that's the case, Sparky," the armored wizard said before starting up the Magic Mobile and driving off.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the stolen train, the sound of steel ripping into a seat could be heard as Kageyama barely managed to avoid getting his arm sliced off. He stared up in terror as Erigor stood over him, brandishing his scythe.

"Let me get this straight. You let a couple of Fairy Tail flies see the Lullaby flute and then you let them get away? Is that true?" he demanded.

"But they don't know anything about what we're planning, sir! And even if they did, there's no way their dumb guild could stop us, right?" Kage defended himself.

The white-haired man glowered at him and stuck his scythe in the ground right in front of him. "We can't afford to take any chances. Fortunately, we have a strategy in place to deal with them."

Kage smirked. "Right, you're talking about the thing at Oshibana Station."

Erigor smirked as well. "We can't have flies buzzing around where they're not wanted. It will be up to you men to swat them away," he said.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Still riding along the rough terrain, the Fairy Tail wizards hurried to their next stop in the Magic Mobile. As Erza continued to drive, Sparky watched her in worried silence. "Hey Erza," he finally called out to her. "Don't you think you should preserve your Magic? I mean, aren't you going to need it to fight Eisenwald when we encounter them?"

"I can't worry about that right now!" she said back. "If Lullaby's song is played, there's no telling how many innocent people may end up dead! We need to stop Eisenwald before it's too late!"

The trainer seemed surprised at her answer, but then he smiled. " _She's willing to sacrifice her well-being just to make sure people don't get hurt. I would do the same thing. Mira was right, she really is sweet,_ " he thought before he moved forward, flipping down to sit next to the redhead. "Let me power the Magic Mobile. You just focus on driving it," he offered.

Now it was Erza's turn to be surprised. "Sparky… are you sure about this?"

Sparky grinned widely. "Of course I'm sure! You'll need all your strength when we face them. I've managed to survive for years with no Magic; I'm pretty certain I can handle taking these guys on without it," he assured her.

Erza continued to stare at him and his smile for a few moments until finally, she smiled back in response. "Thank you, Sparky," she told him gratefully. The scarlet-haired warrior removed the plug from her wrist and handed it to Sparky, causing the Magic Mobile to slow down. It lasted momentarily, as the trainer quickly slipped it onto his wrist and the vehicle went back to moving as fast as it could, much to a certain Dragon Slayer's dismay.

Sparky turned to Erza and gave her another smile, this time one of determination. "Now let's go take down a Dark Guild," he said. Erza matched his smile with one of her own, and the two stared ahead resolutely as they reached the next town. As they continued on, the redhead gazed at Sparky out of the corner of her eye.

" _Sparky… what an interesting character you are,_ " she thought.

The Magic Mobile weaved through the streets as the group headed for the train station. After a couple of minutes, the Oshibana Station came into view, but there was something off. Smoke was billowing from the building and a large crowd of people surrounded it. "What's going on up ahead?" Erza questioned. As they reached the station and exited their vehicle, the group of six (with Lucy carrying Natsu) moved ahead to find out what was going on.

At the station, one of the workers was announcing on a megaphone, "Please stand back! This station is currently closed due to a derailed train!"

"Did you hear?"

"Are you serious?!"

"Well, I heard this station was taken over by a group of thugs!"

"We ask that you please stand back!" The worker felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the armored wizard standing behind him.

"Excuse me, what's going on?" she questioned.

"Why would I tell you, lady?" he responded. Erza didn't take that lightly; she headbutted the man before moving on to the next person.

"What's going on?!" She barely let the guy get a word out before she headbutt his lights out. She continued like that for a while until she reached the last guy. Before she could say anything, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning to the source, she saw Sparky standing there with a soft smile.

"Why don't I ask this guy?" he suggested. He spoke with the man for a little bit before turning to his friends. "The Eisenwald Guild is inside the station."

"Then let's hurry!" Erza declared.

"Right," Gray agreed.

The blond turned to him. "Gray, I don't think they'll take you seriously if you walk in half-naked." The ice wizard quickly scrambled for his clothes. Once they were on, everyone started heading for the station, with Lucy dragging Natsu along.

The Fairy Tail group ran down the hall. "The guy told me that a small army unit went in earlier, but they haven't returned yet," Sparky revealed.

"If I had to guess, they got caught in battle with Eisenwald," Erza put in.

Eventually, the group came across the unit, and by no means was their condition good. Weapons were broken, shields were discarded, and every single person was unconscious. "They've been totally wiped out!" Happy exclaimed.

"They were up against an entire guild of wizards. A small contingent like this would never stand a chance against such a powerful group," Erza stated.

Sparky closed his eyes in concentration. "Well, the good news is that they're still alive. Their auras are weak, but they should be okay," he reported. He frowned. "And we have some company up ahead."

The four wizards trekked on ahead, weary for whatever was at the end of the path. In another few seconds, they were finally face-to-face with the entirety of the Eisenwald Guild. The white-haired leader chuckled maliciously.

"Welcome!" Erigor called. "Step into our parlor, Fairy Tail flies!"

* * *

 **Woo-hoo! I've finished Chapter 3! I decided that this arc will be three chapters long, and then I have a small surprise! For now, next chapter will be the fight against Eisenwald.**

 **Now for my excuses: First of all, from the last week and a half of January to the first two weeks of February, I've been studying intensely for a huge exam. Of course, I've long since finished the exam, but it took up a lot of my time.**

 **The other reason I'm so late in posting this is not as major as the first. I learned how to download and play Pokemon games on Android devices, so naturally, I've been spending most of my time doing just that. My sister and I downloaded and played Heartgold, Black, and Platinum and so far I've beaten the Elite Four and N and Ghetsis in Black and am halfway finished with Heartgold. I started Platinum recently and have already beaten the second gym leader. I'm sorry for getting so caught up, though.**

 **Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! A lot happened, with Sparky explaining about Abilities to him eventually meeting Erza and finally revealing his aura to the group (minus Natsu, of course). You guys will get to see what he can do with his aura next chapter!**

 **Also, Sparky's last two pokemon will be revealed by Chapter 5 at the latest, of that I am certain!**

 **Oh, one more quick note: I have not forgotten about RWBBY: The Shapeshifter. Rest assured, I will be going back to work on that story, most likely after the Lullaby Arc is finished, if not sooner!**

 **Now it's time for my story recommendations:**

 **Kalos Vacation Training by Insane Dominator – A spin-off series for A Contender's Bonds. This story is about how Nic, Vanessa, and Erza spend their year after Fairy Tail disbands. Obviously, it's best to read it after reading the Tartaros Arc in A Contender's Bonds, but it's an amazing story!**

 **Go Ninja by AntiHero627 – This is a crossover between Naruto and the 2012 TMNT series, where the Turtles, April, and Karai are sent to the Naruto universe to further their ninja training. One of my brother's more recent stories, but it's really good!**

 **SLFR by Professor Writer – This is a fanfic about 4 students at Beacon, all with interesting personalities. You all should go check it out!**

 **And that's it! Remember to favorite, follow, and review this story! Sparky D., out!**


	4. Showdown Against Eisenwald

**What's up, what's up, everybody! I'm back with Chapter 4! I'm honestly a bit surprised; it only took me a little more than a month to finish this. That's the shortest amount of time it's taken me to write a chapter for this story! There are going to be quite a few battles in this chapter. Now let's answer some reviews:**

 **Tejerina: I hope you enjoyed it and enjoy this one!**

 **Perseus12: Yep, that's definitely gonna happen! Hope you enjoy the fight!**

 **lenz012696: Thank you very much! I hope you like the fight! Sparky-Greninja will appear in my story, but I won't reveal when. Don't want to spoil the surprise! I will say that it will be a very important fight for Sparky!**

 **Shadowdragon9802: Thank you! You're not wrong; Sparky is the OC I'm pairing with Erza.**

 **Professor Writer: Great, that's exactly what I was going for, starting their relationship off nice and steady! Also, don't worry, you're safe! Thanks a lot; I do my best! I always try to make sure my OCs aren't OP because that wouldn't be too fun for the people reading, now would it? His last two members will be revealed next chapter, and I hope you enjoy the fight!**

 **Now onto the story!**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Showdown Against Eisenwald

At Oshibana Station, things were about to go down as the group of five wizards (and a cat) from Fairy Tail were about to face off against the entirety of the Dark Guild known as Eisenwald.

"Whoa, there's so many of them!" Lucy exclaimed.

Sparky remained unfazed. "This shouldn't be a problem."

Erza looked up at the white-haired wizard who was sitting by one of the windows. "You fiend! I take it you're Erigor?" she accused. The man in question merely chuckled at her claim.

Lucy laid Natsu on the ground and began shaking him to get him to snap out of his current state. "Get up, Natsu! We need you!" she pleaded.

"Good luck with that. Between the train, the Magic Mobile, and your shaking, it's a motion sickness triple combo!" Happy said.

"I'm not a vehicle!"

Kageyama focused on the pink-haired wizard. "Hey, you! It's your fault I got in trouble with Erigor! Get up!" he snarled.

Natsu seemed to recover a little. "I know that voice…"

"You know, I was there, too," Sparky told him, making Kage stare at the trainer in confusion before it hit him.

"That weird dog creature was you?!" he shouted.

Sparky nodded. "Lucario is not weird, but yeah, that was me."

Kage growled. "Then I'll be sure to kick your butt when I'm done with him!" he said, gesturing to the Dragon Slayer.

"We're not threatened by any of you!" Erza declared. "Tell us what you're planning to do with Lullaby!"

"Oh, you haven't heard yet?" he questioned, smirking all the while. Then he jumped into the air and just floated there.

"He flew!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Flying people? Definitely didn't have those where I'm from," the blond teen remarked.

"It's Wind Magic!" Happy realized.

"Tell me, what do all train stations have?" he asked, resting on the broadcaster.

Sparky decided to go with the most obvious answer. "…Trains?"

That answer made the scythe carrier lose his smirk as he glared at the trainer. "Of course not!" he barked.

The trainer blinked. "Really? All the train stations I've been to had trains."

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for!"

"Oh." Sparky grew silent for a second before he suddenly spoke up again, sounding sure. "Train _tracks_! Definitely!"

"I was referring to the broadcaster, you moron!" Erigor shouted.

Sparky blinked again, then shrugged. "Well, I suppose that fits, too," he said.

"You plan to broadcast Lullaby's song?" the armored wizard questioned in disbelief.

Erigor laughed in response. "Thousands of nosy onlookers have flocked to this station to try to get a glimpse of the action. Who knows? If I raise the volume high enough, I might be able to extinguish the whole city with my melody of death!"

"What reason do you have to commit such a heinous act on the innocent people of this town?!" Erza demanded, outraged.

"This is a cleansing of all the fools out there who failed to appreciate the rights they hold dear, who remain willfully ignorant to the plight of those whose rights were stripped away," Erigor answered. "They've committed the sin of turning a blind eye to the world's injustice. Therefore, the Reaper has come to punish them!"

"Those innocent people don't deserve to suffer just because you couldn't accept the fact that killing became outlawed!" Sparky shouted angrily.

"Killing them won't give you your rights back! It'll only make things worse!" the Celestial Mage agreed. "That's the whole reason you were kicked out of the wizard's league in the first place!"

"At this point, we've given up trying to regain our rights," Erigor said. "We want power; then we'll be able to wash away the sins of the past and take control of what happens in the future!"

"You guys are completely insane!" Lucy yelled.

Kage crouched down, putting a hand on the ground. "We're ruling in a new age of darkness! Of course, by the time it gets here, you flies won't be around to see it!" He sent shadows at the blonde, but before they could get to her, they were blasted away by intense flames. Kage glared as he saw the Dragon Slayer was on his feet. "You again!"

"Eisenwald dude… I knew I recognized that voice!" Natsu said.

"You're back to normal!" Lucy exclaimed happily.

Natsu observed the large number of dark wizards. "Well, what do you know, looks to me like we've got ourselves a party here!"

"What? Natsu, these are the guys we're supposed to fight!" she corrected him.

"Like I said, it's a party!"

Sparky smirked in anticipation. "If that's the case, then I can't wait to enjoy myself."

Erigor smirked. " _The Fairy Tail flies fell right into my trap. Everything is going exactly as planned, but I will not rest until_ they _have heard Lullaby's melody of death. Then we'll finally have revenge against those who wronged us,_ " he thought.

"This is the strongest team Fairy Tail has to offer! You'd better be prepared to take us on!" Lucy proclaimed.

The white-haired man floated higher into the air. "I leave them to you, men! Show them the terror of the Dark Guild Eisenwald!" Then he abruptly vanished from sight.

"He disappeared!" Lucy and Happy cried.

Sparky, on the other hand, could still track him. "No, he simply moved too fast for us to see, like the wind. He went that way!" The trainer pointed in one direction, shocking the dark wizards that he could tell that.

"Natsu, Gray, go after Erigor! If the two of you work together, then not even he can defeat you! I'm leaving him in your hands!" Erza ordered. Rather than follow her order, however, the two mages in question glowered at each other. "What did I say?!"

"Come on, guys, we don't have time for this!" Sparky yelled.

The two yelling at them was enough to convince them as they quickly slipped back into their friendly personas. "Aye!" they said, running off in the direction that Sparky had pointed out before.

"They ran off!" one of the members shouted.

"They're going after Erigor!" another one realized.

"I'll stop them!" A man wearing a black and gold coat and hood, as well as a white shirt and green pants, spoke up. With black cables wrapped around his fingers, he flung himself upward, only pausing to declare, "I, the great Rayule, will take them down!"

"I'm going, too!" Kageyama proclaimed. "That pink-haired nincompoop is going to pay!" He created a shadow on the ground and swiftly disappeared into it.

Erza watched them go. "We'll catch up to them once we've finished up all of the men here, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Sparky agreed.

"Just the three of us against an entire magical guild?" Lucy said anxiously.

The men just laughed, thinking that they could handle the wizards standing before them. "Momma always told me not to hit girls, but I can make an exception!" one of them said.

"Sorry ladies, but you won't be looking so cute once we're done with you!" a man with whiskers on his face sneered.

Lucy was somewhat panicking, but Erza and Sparky were completely unaffected by their taunts. "Let's do this!" the scarlet-haired wizard shouted as a crimson Magic circle materialized in front of her outstretched hand.

"Couldn't agree more!" the blond teen said as aura surrounded his arms. He crouched into a fighting stance.

Happy took notice of this. "Aren't you going to use one of your pokemon, Sparky?" he inquired.

"Right now, I don't think that will be necessary," he answered. His attention was drawn over to Erza; he watched in surprise as a sword suddenly appeared, which she grabbed and held out menacingly.

"That came out of thin air!" the Celestial Mage exclaimed. "A magic sword!"

"If you insult the Fairy Tail Guild again in my presence, then I can promise you all that not one of you will live to see tomorrow!" Erza declared.

Still, the men were unafraid as they jumped at the redhead with their weapons ready. "We aren't scared of you!"

"Yeah, we've got plenty of magic swordsmen in our guild!"

They all prepared to strike Erza when, in a flash, she slashed outward, repelling everyone who jumped at her, sending them flying back with broken weapons. The armored wizard didn't stop there; she charged into the crowd and sent people sailing with one sword swing.

Sparky watched her fight in awe, but then he took notice of a few men who tried to blast her. As they unleashed their blasts, she prepared to jump, when the trainer abruptly skidded to a stop in front of her. Before she could question his motives, he smiled back at her reassuringly and held out his arm before an azure barrier appeared, blocking the blasts.

Erza looked astounded. "So that's how you use your aura for defense?" she asked.

Sparky nodded. "That's right, and this is how I attack!" He dropped the barrier and rushed forward. The three wizards tried to blast him; in response, Sparky surrounded his legs with his aura and suddenly seemed to get faster, weaving between the blasts with ease.

Upon reaching the first dark wizard, he swiftly sunk his aura-coated fist into the guy's gut. The blow was so powerful that the man went flying far back, crashing into one of the other wizards who tried to blast him and a few other members who were unfortunate enough to be in the way. The last of the trio was caught off guard, so much that he was unable to react as the Aura Guardian slammed his fist into his chest, uppercutting him away. He hit the ground hard.

Now Erza was the one watching in awe as he took down some more members with his combat skills. " _He used his aura to augment his speed and strength. What an ingenious way to attack._ " She watched as her fellow guildmate grinned back at her before facing the dark wizards again, shooting an Aura Sphere that knocked out some more of them. The redhead smiled a bit. " _I better get back to fighting as well!_ " With that thought in mind, she jumped into the air, and Sparky turned to watch as her sword disappeared and was replaced with a spear.

"Now it's a spear!" Lucy gasped.

Erza swung her new weapon around, slicing through Eisenwald's members like it was nothing, which it was. Her weapon glowed and was then replaced with dual swords which she wielded with no problem, continuing to cut down the enemy forces.

"It turned into twin swords!" the fat man said.

"I've never seen anyone able to Requip as fast as this chick can!" the whiskers guy commented in shock.

"What's Requip?" the blonde inquired. Being close enough to hear them, Sparky turned to listen to the explanation.

"Magic weaponry isn't too different from your Celestial Magic, Lucy. The user can summon various weapons they keep stored in another dimension, and when the user switches between different weapons, it's called Requipping," the blue cat explicated.

"That sounds pretty awesome!" the trainer remarked.

"You haven't seen anything yet! Erza's just getting warmed up!" Happy said.

The fat man heard the cat's last statement. "Erza?!" he said.

"You know, that's actually not too different from something else I can do," Sparky told them. Just then, another dark wizard leaped above him, a sword in hand as he readied to swing. Sparky turned to face him, and as he did, his aura began to encompass his right arm. Rather than get ready to punch the guy or shoot him down with an Aura Sphere, the aura seemed to be focusing into his palm.

As the mage swung his sword down, he suddenly found it snapped in half as it collided with another sword, this one a shining azure. The blond smirked before slashing the guy and knocking him out.

Lucy and Happy stared at Sparky, astounded. "How did you do that?!" they cried.

"It's a technique my teacher taught me," Sparky revealed. "I can shape my aura into weapons. Gives me more than one way to fight, though I also had to learn to wield them properly."

The two gazed on in wonder. It seemed like the newest guild member wouldn't stop surprising them anytime soon.

Some distance away from them, Erza had caught sight of the glowing weapon and turned to look at the trainer in surprise. " _He can make a sword out of his aura?_ " she thought. " _How intriguing._ "

Abruptly, Sparky turned to glare in her direction. The sword in his hand reformed into a staff and he reared his arm back. "Erza, duck!" he called as he threw the weapon. The scarlet-haired warrior blinked in surprise before swiftly heeding his call. The staff flew over her head and crashed into the face of a man who had been trying to sneak attack her with his sword. He hit the ground, unconscious.

Erza looked at the enemy, stunned, before turning to Sparky again. The trainer grinned back and sent her a thumbs up. Erza smiled and nodded in thanks.

"Wow! That was so cool, Sparky!" Happy exclaimed.

Sparky rubbed the back of his head. "It wasn't much, really."

"Well, it's time for me to kick some butt!" Lucy said in determination.

"Why do you have to steal the spotlight?!" the cat complained.

Ignoring him, the blonde pulled out one of her gold keys. Spinning it around, she clutched it and chanted, " **Open: Gate of the Giant Crab – Cancer!** " A golden Magic circle appeared and a man came out of it. He wore a blue shirt and black pants, with glasses on his face. He had an odd haircut, a pair of scissors in each hand, and six crab legs on his back.

Sparky watched curiously. "So this is Cancer."

"You need me to fight these guys, baby?" the Spirit in question asked.

"Oh yeah, take them out with style!" Lucy confirmed.

Undeterred, the men charged at the new enemy. "I've never seen such a stupid haircut before!" one of them said.

"You look like an idiot!" another one agreed.

Cancer turned his gaze to the dark wizards, clearly perturbed. "Baby." In an instant, he passed the attackers while snipping his scissors. As soon as he stopped, the enemies' weapons fell to pieces while their hair was cut off.

"My weapon!"

"What happened to my hair?!"

"We're all bald!"

Cancer sidled up to Lucy. "Like the new style, baby?"

The trainer blinked as he observed the panicking dark wizards. "Well… I guess that's one way to win a fight," he remarked.

"That was impressive," Erza complimented the blonde.

"Oh thanks, but it was no big deal," Lucy said. Then, to herself, she said, "Yes! Points scored!"

"That's what you were going for?!" Happy shouted.

"However, this crab Spirit of yours…" the redhead went on. "The way he calls you 'baby' is rather offensive."

"Points unscored…" the Celestial Mage moaned.

Erza narrowed her eyes as she glared at the remaining Eisenwald members. "There's still so many… I thought we took care of most of them. How annoying, but I'll finish this now."

"It seems I'll have to step up my game, too," Sparky said. He could continue fighting as he was, but at the risk of using up more of his aura, which he may need later. It was best to fall back and let one of his pokemon take over.

A crimson seal appeared under Erza's feet and her clothes glowed before they vanished. Sparky, Lucy, and the Eisenwald Guild all stared in astonishment as they watched her attire undergo a complete change.

"Most Magic swordsmen only have the ability to swap out their weapons, but Erza is able to swap out her armor for other Magic armors that enhance her abilities," Happy explained to his fellow guildmates, knowing that they would have no idea what this was. "It's a talent that only she possesses; that's what makes her special: a technique called 'The Knight!'"

Sparky gazed, mesmerized, as he saw that the scarlet-haired warrior was now adorned in metal armor that covered most of her chest, but left her stomach and neck areas bare. She had on a long skirt with metal plating over the upper half. She wore metal gauntlets and boots, and she had large metal wings on her back. In each of her hands was a sword.

" _She looks so beautiful…_ " he thought with a blush on his face. The blond shook his head vigorously, trying to get rid of the red on his face. " _Gah, gotta focus! We're fighting evil wizards now!_ " He looked back to the Eisenwald members, his blush gone. "I'll give it my all as well!" An orange and silver Magic circle materialized under his feet, and a bright light shielded his form from everyone around. When the light faded, Lucario was back out, glaring intensely at the dark wizards. " **You all shall be defeated,** " he said.

"What the heck is that?!" one of the men cried.

"You think that's the dog creature Kage was talking about?" someone questioned.

"It's Lucario again!" Happy exclaimed.

The Aura Pokemon put his paws together before separating them, and in his right paw was a long bone. " **Bone Rush!** " he called, then promptly disappeared.

As he did so, Erza flew up into the air. "Dance, my swords!" she shouted. A ring of swords appeared behind her, rapidly spinning in a circle.

"I knew it! It has to be her!" the fat man cried.

" **Circle Sword!** " she yelled, sending the swords flying outward. Right before she launched her attack, Lucario reappeared and the bone he was holding faded away. While most of the men just dropped to the ground, unconscious, everyone else was sent flying, knocked out by the redhead's attack. Only the fat man and the guy with whiskers were still standing.

"They defeated most of those guys so quickly!" Lucy gasped.

"Aye!"

The whiskered guy charged forward, his fists glowing with his Magic. "All right then, you'll have to deal with me now!"

"Don't do it, Byard! Do you have any idea who that woman is?!" the fat man shouted to his comrade. "She's Queen of the Fairies, Titania Erza!"

Before Byard could register the other man's words, Lucario appeared in his path, catching him off guard. The pokemon swung his foot around, and as he did, it ignited. " **Blaze Kick!** " Sparky's fiery foot deflected the punch that the dark wizard tried to throw, leaving him off-balance. Right after, he charged up another attack, a familiar glowing blue sphere, much to his friends' surprise. " **Aura Sphere!** " he called out, blasting his foe into unconsciousness and ending the battle.

With the fight over, Erza changed back into her Heart Kreuz armor while Sparky changed back to himself. "Thank you, Sparky. I must say, you are quite strong," Erza thanked him.

The trainer grinned. "No problem! You were pretty impressive yourself!"

The armored wizard smiled back appreciatively. "I am surprised, though. I didn't know your Lucario could use aura like you."

"Yeah, it was both Lucario and me who were trained to use aura. For Lucario, it comes more naturally, however. Now…" He turned to face the last member of Eisenwald, only to see him fleeing.

"I'm getting out of here!" the fat man shouted, running into a doorway and turning to run into a hallway.

"He must be going to find and warn Erigor," Erza deduced. "Do you think you could stop him?"

"It shouldn't be a problem to find him since I can track him," Sparky replied, heading after the dark wizard. "I won't let you down!"

Erza watched him go before turning to Lucy and Happy. "You two should go with him and provide assistance if he needs it."

"You mean us?" the Celestial Mage questioned.

The redhead glared. "Just go!"

"Sure thing! I don't want to make you mad at me!" Lucy cried fearfully as she ran after the Aura Guardian with Happy in tow.

Once they were gone, Erza wobbled on her feet, feeling a bit lightheaded, but managed to stay upright. She put a hand to her head. "I must have overdone it a little. I suppose it's a good thing Sparky offered his help on the Magic Mobile." She thought to Natsu and Gray searching for Erigor, as well as Sparky doing his part to help. "Please, boys… please don't fail me."

* * *

Meanwhile, Gray and Natsu were currently running down a corridor leading to who knows where, trying to find Erigor. Both were still upset at their situation, though.

"I can't believe she's making us work together! What was she thinking?!" Gray was complaining.

"Obviously she wasn't thinking and apparently neither was Sparky! Everyone knows that fire and ice don't mix!" Natsu responded.

"Exactly! And why the heck does she have to be so bossy?!" the ice wizard shouted.

"She could ask us to do things instead of just ordering us around!" the Dragon Slayer agreed.

The two stopped running to yell at each other. "I don't need your help, I'll beat Erigor on my own!" They pressed their foreheads together angrily. "Are you copying me?!"

Looking ahead, the two wizards saw a fork in the road, with one path going left while the other went right. "Which way do we go?" Natsu wondered.

"I guess we'll have to split up," Gray decided.

The two separated, Gray facing the left direction while Natsu faced the right direction. "Natsu," the dark blue-haired teen said, getting his comrade's attention. "We're up against an evil wizard who's about to unleash a deadly spell on unsuspecting people." Gray turned to face him. "If you find him, give him a good beatdown."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Natsu smirked. "I've got a bone to pick with that jerk for messing with Fairy Tail. I'll burn him to a crisp!"

The two wizards smirked at each other, but then they realized they were willingly getting along and quickly turned away from each other. As they prepared to go, Gray suddenly murmured, "Don't die on me."

The pink-haired teen looked back inquisitively. "It's nothing. Later, loser!" And with that, Gray ran down his respective hallway, leaving Natsu to do the same.

The ice wizard ran down the halls, looking for the leader of the Eisenwald Guild, when he spied one of the train station's speakers. "That's right. Erigor must be planning to broadcast the Lullaby song through the speaker system." He continued to dash through the station until he came across a door with the word "Studio" on it; the broadcasting studio.

After kicking the door down, the Fairy Tail wizard peered inside the room, only to find it was empty. "There's nobody here," he noted in surprise. Gray walked in. "Maybe I was wrong about him broadcasting it over the station's PA…" As he pondered to himself, he was unaware of Rayule hanging above him with a malicious smirk.

Suddenly, the dark wizard attacked Gray with his black cables; it was only the ice wizard's quick reflexes that saved him from getting hit. "That was a pretty good guess, pal, but our plan isn't as obvious as it seems," Rayule spoke.

Gray smirked, anticipating kicking this new guy's butt. "So tell me what your plan is and maybe I won't hurt you." The two prepared to duke it out.

* * *

On a balcony outside the station, Erza stood over the crowd that was still standing around Oshibana Station with a megaphone in hand. "If you value your lives, then you will get as far away from this building as you can at once!" she spoke into it. "This station has been taken over by evil wizards who are threatening to broadcast a deadly spell over the loudspeakers that would kill everyone here! I beg you, run as far away as possible!"

The crowd seemed to get more panicky as she continued to talk until finally, they did what she asked, fleeing the scene as quick as possible. "Hey, lady! Why would you make everybody panic like that?!" one of the station's workers demanded.

"I would rather have that happen than watch all those people die," the armored wizard answered, surprising the man. "As a matter of fact, you gentlemen need to evacuate as well."

Once the station was completely cleared of the regular people, Erza let out a sigh of relief. "Now that I've cleared the train station, I wonder what Erigor's next move will be." Feeling the wind start to pick up, she turned around, and she gasped in horror at what she saw: an enormous wall of wind surrounding the Oshibana Station. "It's some kind of wind barrier!" While she stared at the swirling wind, Erigor floated up behind her.

* * *

In the broadcasting studio, Rayule opened the battle by swiping the black cables around his fingers at the Fairy Tail mage, who was quick to evade. "You can't escape!" he shouted, sending more cables at Gray.

In response, Gray entered his Ice-Make stance, placing a fist over the palm of his other hand. " **Ice-Make: Shield!** " he chanted, and instantly, a shield of ice blocked the dark wizard's attack.

"This punk uses Ice Magic?!"

" **Ice-Make: Knuckle!** " Gray followed up. Underneath Rayule, multiple fists of ice erupted, sending him crashing through a wall as he cried out in pain. "This is your last chance to tell me what you're planning. You're not going to broadcast Lullaby over the PA system?"

Rather than respond to his inquiry, Rayule chuckled. "Erigor's magic sealing barrier should be activated by now," he said.

The ice wizard glared at him. "Erigor's what?"

"He's created a wind barrier to keep you pesky insects from escaping," the Eisenwald wizard revealed.

* * *

Outside, Erigor addressed the scarlet-haired warrior. "I've always wanted the chance to fight you, Titania. But unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you right now." He raised his glowing palm, and abruptly, Erza found herself on the other side of the wall of wind with a grunt.

"Erigor!" she screamed, charging at the wall. However, when her arm made contact with the wind, she was repelled backward while pain shot up her arm.

"It's futile! There's no way to break through my magic sealing barrier," the Wind Mage told her. "You see, it's one-way only; if you try to escape, the wind will tear you apart!"

Erza shakily got to her feet. "What is the meaning of this, you scoundrel?!" she demanded.

"We've wasted enough time on you Fairy Tail flies. Now, if you'll excuse me…" The scythe carrier flew away from the train station.

"Come back here! Curse you, Erigor, we will find a way to stop you!" the redhead yelled. "So this station wasn't his target after all. Just what is he planning?"

* * *

Gray slammed Rayule against the wall and held him there. "How about I get straight to the point, buddy? Tell me what the plan is or else!"

"We knew you flies would cause problems for us, so we lured you here and trapped you. The only reason we took over this station was to block traffic to the final destination. We didn't want any trains getting into Clover Station," the dark wizard explained.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because that's where it all goes down! Clover is just beyond a giant canyon, and this train line is the only way in and out of town. That is, unless you can fly, like Erigor can!"

"So the Lullaby flute is in Clover?" Gray questioned.

"Guess what else is in Clover right now. Think hard and you'll get it!" As he spoke, the black cables around his fingers began to extend.

The ice wizard's eyes widened in shock, but before he could react, Rayule had whipped him with his cables. "Gotcha!" the dark wizard cried gleefully.

" _Clover… that's where the Guild Master conference is being held!_ " Gray realized." _This was their plan the whole time! They're targeting the Guild Masters!_ "

Rayule laughed as he saw the look on the Fairy Tail mage's face. "So you finally figured it out, did you? Well, it's too late to stop us now!" He whipped his cables at Gray again, who put his arms up to block the attack.

"You Eisenwald punks must be pretty brave if you're willing to mess with a group of powerful wizards!" Gray remarked.

"Those ignorant old farts won't even know what hit them when Lullaby's song starts playing. There's no way Erigor's plan will fail!" Rayule whipped his cables again, ensnaring the Fairy Tail wizard. "You and your Fairy friends are trapped in this station, so there's nothing you can do about it! Soon we'll have our revenge on everyone who tried to keep us down! When we're done, they'll be completely wiped out!"

The more he spoke, the angrier Gray got. A powerful mist flowed from his hands and spread out in every direction, instantly freezing the black bands that had him bound, much to Rayule's shock. Gray shattered his now frozen binds with ease as he glowered at the dark wizard. "That's not gonna happen!"

Rayule gazed in horror as the ice that froze over his cables was now starting to freeze the lower half of his body as the ice wizard walked toward him. "Let's get something straight: when you mess with the Guild Masters, then you mess with all of us! They may be old farts, but they're the closest thing we have to parents!" He reached out and grabbed the Eisenwald member by his face, freezing the man in a block of ice, an expression of terror on the dark wizard's face as Gray treaded away. "When I get my hands on them, I'll show that Fairy Tail can be much more terrifying than any Dark Guild…"

* * *

Erza was back inside the train station, seeing as there was no way to escape the wind barrier. To ensure that no one from Eisenwald escaped, the redhead tied up all the dark wizards, leaving only Byard free so that she could interrogate him to try and figure out how to get past the wall of wind. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be getting her anywhere.

"It's no use, lady. There's no way to undo Erigor's barrier. You and your buddies are stuck," the dark wizard told her. Erza's gaze narrowed and she was about to reply when she heard someone call her name.

Looking up, she saw Gray standing on a platform above her. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Natsu!"

"We had to split up, but that's not important right now!" Gray replied. "Listen, I just learned that Eisenwald's real target is Clover, the next town up!"

"What?!"

"Erigor's heading for the conference hall as we speak! He's going to kill the Guild Masters with Lullaby's song!" Gray revealed, looking distraught.

Erza glowered intensely at the Eisenwald member before her, a terrifying aura wafting from her. "Why didn't you tell me this?!" she demanded, scaring him. She turned her attention back to Gray. "Unfortunately, we have another problem. The station is surrounded by a wind barrier."

"Yeah, I know. I saw it earlier," he told her. "If you try to break through it, you'll get cut to pieces."

"I've already tried that," the armored wizard said as she closed her eyes, prompting Gray to finally notice her injured limb.

"Whoa, is your arm alright?"

"That's not important. What is important is finding a way out of here. We have to stop Erigor before he reaches the Guild Masters conference." The redhead's eyes opened back up. "Wait a minute… I remember them talking about someone named Kage back at the pub." She turned to her comrade sharply. "We have to find that man, Gray! He was the one who broke Lullaby's seal!"

"A dispeller, huh? A seal-breaking wizard! He can take down the wind barrier!" Gray mused. However, neither of them noticed Byard's face morph into a scowl as he gritted his teeth.

"That's what I'm hoping. Now let's hurry and find that wizard!"

"Right!"

Once they left, things were silent for a while, until finally, Byard spoke. "Karacka… how long are you going to hide back there?"

After he said that, a seal materialized on the wall, and out of it came the fat man that Sparky had gone chasing after. "I'm sorry, but I was scared!" he said.

"Find Kage before they do. Go now!" Byard instructed.

"No, please don't make me! You know I'm no good in a fight, Byard!" the fat wizard pleaded.

"Calm down. It's a simple job, one that even you're capable of." The whiskered man's eyes narrowed darkly as he spoke, and Karacka gasped in shock at what he was asked to do.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the halls of Oshibana Station, three Fairy Tail members were walking. "Man, this is pointless! This guy's nowhere to be found!" Lucy complained.

"Aye," Happy agreed. "Sparky, I thought you said you would be able to track him?"

The trainer was walking in front of them, a serious but confused expression on his face. "I don't understand it, either. I was following after him just fine, but now he's just all over the place! He's either moving underground, or he's moving through the walls, which would explain why he seems to be moving from one place to another so quickly." Sparky explained. He stopped in place. "Let me try looking for him again." He sat down on the ground, entering his meditative stance. Closing his eyes, he began searching for Karacka's aura again, looking down different hallways.

After a few minutes, Sparky finally located the fat man. "Alright, guys, I've got him…" Then he noticed something was off. He quickly did another scan, this time of the whole building, searching for another aura. "Hang on… something's not right," he stated.

"Huh? What's the matter, Sparky?" the cat inquired.

"I thought that wizard was supposed to be going to find Erigor, but Erigor is no longer in this building," the blond answered, much to his friends' surprise. "Why wouldn't he be here? I thought they were targeting this station…" After thinking for a few moments, Sparky stood up and faced the Celestial Mage. "Lucy, I want you to find Erza and tell her that Erigor's completely left the station. I'm not sure if she's aware yet, but just go to be sure."

"Uh, okay," Lucy said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going back to find out what exactly their plan is. I'll interrogate one of the defeated members. Happy, you're with me."

The cat looked aghast. "But Erza gave you a task and you haven't completed it! If you don't, she might get really mad at you!"

Sparky sweatdropped at that before becoming serious again. "I'll take my chances. Now let's go!" And with that, he took off, heading back to where they had their big battle. Happy looked uncertain but eventually started flying after the trainer, while Lucy took off in the opposite direction.

* * *

All around the station, various rooms exploded for seemingly no reason. Of course, the reason for such happened to be one very loud, very destructive Dragon Slayer.

"ERIGOR!" Natsu screamed at the top of his lungs. "COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!" As he went around yelling, he also used his fire to break down several doors as he searched from room to room.

Unbeknownst to Natsu, he was being watched. From a peculiarly-shaped shadow, Kageyama's upper body popped out. " _Sheesh, does this idiot even know how to use a door?_ " the dark wizard thought. He began creeping up on the unsuspecting Natsu. " _Now that Erigor made it out safely, this kid doesn't pose much of a threat. I could just let him go… but where's the fun in that?_ " Slowly, he rose out of his shadow, alerting Natsu of his presence, but before the pink-haired wizard could react, Kage attacked him with multiple fists made of shadows.

The Eisenwald member smirked. "I've been wanting to do that since I got off the train! Had enough, Fairy Tail insect?"

Natsu struggled to get up for a bit, and when he did, he had his face stuck inside a ridiculous painting. "Not you again!" he complained angrily.

Kage stared at the sight for a few seconds before commenting, "Wow, you look really stupid right now."

"Shut your mouth, Doggy!" Natsu snapped.

"Get my name right! It's Kage!" the other wizard yelled back.

"Oh. Same thing, really."

Kage went from his agitated demeanor to a calmer one. "Anyway, I think I have you all figured out now. You eat fire to increase your power; shouldn't be too hard to beat."

The Dragon Slayer growled like a wild animal before his head burst into flames, destroying the painting. "I so wanna teach you a lesson right now, but I don't have time for that! Tell me where Erigor is!"

Kageyama smirked at his demand. "You really think I'll tell you that? If you really wanna know, then you're gonna have to beat it out of me! **Knuckle Shadow!** " He sent more shadowy fists at Natsu as he did on the train, but this time the Fairy Tail wizard was prepared and blocked the attack with his arms, catching the dark wizard by surprise.

Natsu chuckled. "So I get to beat you up and learn what I need to know? Talk about killing two birds with one stone. I'm getting fired up!"

Kage glared at the pink-haired teen before using his Knuckle Shadow again. However, Natsu was swiftly avoiding every attack with ease, making the Eisenwald member angrier. Kage placed his hand on the ground, creating another seal. " **Snake Shadow!** " A multitude of snakes made of shadows flew at Natsu. "You can't run from this! They'll tear you to pieces!"

The Dragon Slayer just smirked. "I got this! **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!** " he shouted as two whips of flame formed around his arms. He swung his arms at the shadow attack, resulting in him blowing them all away at once and leaving Kageyama in shock.

"Impossible! He stopped them with one shot?!" he gasped. " _So much power… I didn't think wizards like him actually existed._ "

Natsu's fist became engulfed in flames. "So, you ready to talk?" he asked. "If not, I've got a fireball here with your name on it."

Kage gazed at him in horror. "Y-You're a monster!"

At that, the flames grew more intense as the pink-haired Dragon Slayer jumped at him, and Kage could only remain frozen in fear as the attack made contact. The impact was so powerful that it shook the entire building, alerting the rest of his comrades.

"Was that him?" Gray wondered.

"It must have been," Erza deduced.

Lucy paused for a moment. "Natsu?!"

Sparky and Happy had also stopped momentarily. "Whoa, that felt like an earthquake," the former remarked.

"I'll give you three guesses who that could be," Happy said. Sparky sighed, already knowing exactly who was responsible, before continuing on his way.

Natsu's attack had caused a lot of dust to rise as a result. "Aw man, look what you made me do!" he complained. "I was trying not to mess up the place this time!" He slowly walked toward the defeated Eisenwald member, who had been knocked into a wall, a singed trail following him. "Oh well, at least I'm feeling better. Sorry I had to take you down, Diorama."

"I told you my name is Kageyama!" the dark wizard said, a tick mark over his head.

"Whatever, just tell me where Erigor is or you're gonna get toasted!"

Kage chuckled. "He's long gone, you moron! He left the station a while ago!"

"Say what?!"

"Natsu!" The Dragon Slayer perked up at the sound of someone calling his name. He looked over and saw Erza and Gray running toward him. "Don't harm that man! We need him alive!"

"Way to go, ya flaming moron!" Gray shouted.

Natsu stood there in bewilderment, not sure what they were talking about, but it quickly changed to fear when he saw the scarlet-haired warrior lunging at him with a sword in hand. "I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry!"

Fortunately for him, Erza went past him, plunging her weapon into the wall next to Kageyama, briefly relieving the pink-haired teen while terrifying the dark wizard. "You will dispel the wind barrier without complaint, do you understand?!"

Kage was currently unable to answer as he was quivering in fear. "Just do it, man, this chick's terrifying!" Natsu yelled.

"Will you shut up, Natsu?" Gray told him in annoyance.

"Well?!" Erza demanded.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it!" Kageyama relented. However, before anything else could be done, the man abruptly lurched in pain, startling the Fairy Tail wizards. Out of nowhere, a seal appeared on his abdomen, and it was quickly followed by a hand that impaled Kage from behind. Erza gasped while Natsu and Gray stared in horror.

Kageyama cried out in agony before muttering, "Why… Karacka?" He fell to the floor, unconscious, and everyone saw that the fat man was behind him, half of his body inside of the wall.

Karacka was shaking at what he had just done. He thought back to what Byard had requested him to do. " _It's a simple job, one that even you're capable of. You must kill Kageyama._ " Now that he had done it, though, he just couldn't believe what he had done.

"Kage!" Erza yelled in worry.

"He was our only way out of here!" Gray said as the two ran to the downed wizard's side. Natsu just stood there as he tried to process what just happened.

The redhead lifted him up slightly. "Kage, don't die on us now! We need your help, do you hear me?!"

"I think we're losing him, Erza!" the dark blue-haired teen said urgently.

"You're the only one who can get rid of the wind barrier! Hang on, Kage!" Erza yelled.

Karacka just remained in the wall, still shaking with guilt, when Natsu finally reacted. His fist clenched.

"How could you do that to one of your friends?" This made the Eisenwald member turn to the Dragon Slayer as his voice got louder. "He was a member of your guild! He trusted you and you tried to kill him!" Now fearing for his safety, Karacka tried to retreat into the wall to get away, but Natsu wasn't going to let him go so easily. His clenched fist ignited and he lunged at the wall, punching it at full force and hitting Karacka in the process. "Is this how you Dark Guild members treat each other?!"

Erza was still holding the unconscious wizard. "Please Kage, stay with us!" she pleaded.

"It's no use, Erza. He's unconscious," Gray said.

"We can't let him die; he's our only chance to get free!" Erza growled, banging his head on the floor repeatedly.

Gray sweatdropped. "I don't think he'll be able to use Magic in the condition he's in."

"He will if I force him to!"

It was this scene that Lucy walked in on, confused at what was happening. "Um… bad timing?" she said awkwardly.

* * *

It took a few minutes, but Sparky and Happy reached the room where the initial fighting had taken place. Once there, the two noted that all of the wizards were now tied up. The trainer moved to confront one of the tied-up wizards when he felt a slight draft coming from down the hall.

Looking down the hall to the entrance of the station, Sparky was stunned to see what appeared to be a storm of wind swirling about. "Happy, do you have any idea what that is?" he questioned.

The flying cat followed his gaze, and his eyes widened. "I think it's a wind barrier!"

"You got that right…" Turning around, the two saw Byard was the one that spoke. "It's Erigor's wind barrier. Nothing's getting in here… and nothing's getting out."

"But why?" Sparky questioned. "If this station is Erigor's target, then why…" The trainer trailed off before his eyes widened. "This isn't his target, is it?!"

The whiskered man smirked. "Of course not, you Fairy Tail fly!"

"Then what is he aiming for?" Happy asked.

The blond teen cracked his knuckles menacingly as he glowered at the dark wizard, and said wizard was abruptly reminded of his interrogation from Erza as a shiver ran down his spine. "You better spill if you know what's good for you."

Byard tried not to let the Fairy Tail wizard frighten him, but as Sparky's glare got deeper, he couldn't handle it anymore. "Alright, fine!" he shouted. "Erigor's on his way to Clover Town right now!"

Sparky's glare dropped from his face as he looked puzzled. "Why would he wanna go there? Is he aiming to kill more people at once and the population is larger there?" he wondered.

"Wait a minute, Sparky! The Guild Masters are having their conference in Clover right now!" Happy realized.

The trainer gasped in shock. "He must be going after them, then!" Sparky said, catching on. "We have to stop him!"

"Good luck with that!" Byard sneered. "Erigor's wind barrier is totally indestructible! You'll never be able to bust through it!"

Sparky turned back to the Eisenwald member before walking up to him. Once he was in front of him, he stopped and smirked. "Challenge accepted." Then he slammed his fist into the guy's head, knocking him out. Afterward, he ran outside with Happy on his tail.

The two stared at the wall of wind. "How are we supposed to get past this and stop Erigor?" Happy asked.

Sparky gazed at the wind barrier for a while. Finally, he spoke. "Let me try a couple of things. I wanna test something." Holding up his right arm, he formed an Aura Sphere and launched it at the swirling wind. The attack crashed into the barrier and, after a few seconds, was sent back to the duo.

Happy panicked at that, but the Aura Guardian simply caught the attack with his still outstretched hand before dispersing it. "Ranged attacks don't work, so let me try attacking it physically." Sparky's arm became surrounded in aura as he rushed at the wind wall and punched at it. He made contact with it, but after a few seconds, he was repelled with a grunt.

"Sparky! Are you okay?" the cat asked, concerned.

"That's not important right now. Don't worry, I'll be fine," he replied, disregarding his slightly injured arm as he observed the barrier again. "It seems trying to break through the barrier won't work here…" The trainer looked up, noticing that the wind swirled around to even close off the top, so flying out was not an option. He was swiftly struck with an idea, and he looked down, specifically at the ground. "…but we may not need to," he finished.

Happy was bewildered. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Happy, I need you to find the others and deliver a message for me," Sparky said suddenly, surprising the cat. "I would go back and tell them myself, but we don't have a lot of time. Tell them that I said I'll hold off Erigor until they can get there and back me up. I'll do everything I can to defeat him before they arrive, though."

"But how are you going to get through the barrier?"

"I'm not going to get through it," he said, confusing Happy further. "I see only one way to get past this wind wall." A yellow Magic circle appeared under his feet, bathing his form with light; when it faded, Pikachu was standing in his trainer's place. "And that's by going under!" He jumped into the air and pointed his tail downward, the tip facing the ground. " **Dig!** " Spinning in place rapidly, he drilled into the ground, leaving behind a small hole.

Happy stared at the hole in astonishment. "Whoa, he dug under the wind barrier," he said. Then he paused. "Wait… digging…" And just like that, he remembered something vital that he had forgotten earlier. "WAAH! LUCY!" He flew off frantically in search of his fellow Fairy Tail member.

* * *

On the other side of the wall of wind, the ground suddenly burst open as a small, yellow mouse drilled his way out. Pikachu stopped spinning once he was above the ground and landed on his feet before changing back to Sparky. The trainer turned around to gaze at the barrier that was now behind him.

"Looks like my idea worked," he remarked. He faced forward, ready to chase down the scythe wielder, and he knew just who to use. He concentrated as a Magic circle materialized under his feet before flashing with intense light.

* * *

The group of Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza had gone outside, where they could see the barrier was still going strong. The redhead had brought Kageyama with them to treat his injuries. Lucy was quick to tell Erza that Sparky and Happy had separated, and that the trainer had sent her to the redhead to make sure she was aware that Erigor was not at the station anymore. As Sparky had suspected, Erza did know that Erigor was no longer around, and she quickly informed Lucy and Natsu on what his true plan was.

"What?! Erigor wants to use Lullaby to kill the Guild Masters?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"We have to stop him!" Natsu growled.

"That's easier said than done," Erza said. "Erigor cut off our only means of reaching Clover, and he's currently flying there himself."

"We could probably catch up to him with the Magic Mobile," Gray mused. "But, unless we get to the other side of this wind barrier, we're not gonna be able to accomplish anything!"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Lucy wondered.

The Dragon Slayer had his own solution as he charged at the wind barrier with a flaming fist. He slammed it into the barrier but was sent flying back almost immediately.

"And that's what happens if you try to bust through it," the ice wizard said, not even sparing Natsu a second glance while Lucy just looked stunned.

"Come on, Kage, wake up. You're our only hope right now!" the armored wizard said. It was no use, however, as even though the Eisenwald member was bandaged up now, he still remained unconscious.

Natsu was far from giving up. "I've gotta try to break through!" he screamed, flames enveloping his fists again. "We have to save Makarov!" He punched and kicked the barrier relentlessly, but each time he attempted, the wind repelled him backward and he ended up with more cuts.

"Will you cut it out already?" Gray said in exasperation. "Obviously, you're not going to be able to break through the barrier with brute force."

"Isn't there anything else you could do? Maybe if you froze it, Natsu could melt it!" the blonde suggested.

"If I could have done that, I would have done it already," Gray shot back.

Erza's eyes scrunched closed in frustration. "Damn it! I don't know what to do!"

Fortunately for her and everyone else, the answer was about to come in the form of a certain flying blue cat.

"LUCY!" All of the Fairy Tail wizards started as they heard Happy calling out for the Celestial Mage. Turning around, they spotted him flying their way.

"Happy?" Natsu questioned. "What's the matter?"

Erza was first to notice something was off. "Wait a moment, where's Sparky?"

"Sparky went on ahead because he found a way past the barrier!" Happy revealed, surprising all of the wizards.

"What? How?!" the dark blue-haired teen asked.

"It has to do with what I have to tell Lucy! I remembered what I wanted to tell you on the way here!" the cat exclaimed frantically.

"What are you…?" Then it clicked for her as she recalled what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean when you were calling me weird." She glared at him distastefully.

"Exactly!" he said, ignoring the look she was giving him. He pulled out a golden key from his bag and presented it to the Celestial Mage. "Look!"

Lucy recognized what it was instantly, and suffice to say she was shocked. "How the heck did you get your paws on Virgo's key?!" she shouted, then started pulling on his lips. "Didn't anyone teach you not to steal things?!"

"I didn't steal it; Virgo asked me to give it to you!" Happy explained, making Lucy let him go.

"Come on, guys, we don't have time to waste here," Gray said. "What does this have to do with Sparky?"

Natsu, on the other hand, tried to recall who Happy and Lucy were talking about. "Who's Virgo again? Oh wait, she was the big gorilla-looking maid!"

"Apparently, her contract with Everlue was broken when he got arrested," Happy went on. "Before we all left that day, she came up to me and told me that she wanted to sign a new contract with you!"

Lucy sulked. "Wonderful, I get a gorilla Spirit. Well, thanks for telling me that, but I'll have to deal with that later."

"You don't understand—"

The blonde cut the cat off by pinching his cheeks. "Look, cat, in case you haven't noticed, we've got more important matters to deal with right now! We need to find a way past this barrier! So why don't you shut up and try meowing like every other cat?!"

"Wow, she can be pretty scary," the ice wizard remarked.

"She must have picked it up from Erza," Natsu said.

Teary-eyed, Happy spoke again. "I'm sorry. I just figured that since Virgo could drill holes in the ground, she could dig us to the other side of the barrier."

"She can?!" Erza gasped.

"Are you serious?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Wait, you're right!" the Celestial Mage realized. She picked the cat up and hugged him. "You're so smart; why didn't you mention that sooner?"

"Probably because _someone_ was pinching my face!"

Lucy realized that it was because of her and began apologizing profusely, leading Happy to tell her that he'd forgive her if she got him some fish when they got back.

"So we can dig under the barrier… Sparky figured this out?" the redhead inquired.

Happy nodded. "Yeah, and he sent me here to tell you guys how to escape the barrier! He also said to tell you that he's going to fight Erigor!"

"We've gotta hurry, then!" the pink-haired teen said. "Lucy, do your thing!"

"Right!" Lucy nodded seriously. She held the Gate Key out in front of her. "I call upon thee, in the world of the Celestial Spirits! I beckon you to my side at once; pass through the gate!" The key spun in place before Lucy grabbed it and pointed it downward. " **Open: Gate of the Maiden – Virgo!** " she called.

A Magic circle appeared, and out of the ground burst a slim woman with bubblegum pink hair. She wore a maid's outfit with chains shackled to her wrists. Once she stood on the ground, she opened her eyes, revealing her blue irises. "You summoned me, Mistress? What do you need me to do for you?"

Lucy just stared at her in shock. "…Who are you?"

Happy also looked surprised while Natsu seemed to recognize her right away. "What's up, Burger? It looks like you lost some weight since the last time we saw each other; you look great!"

Virgo didn't look offended by the Dragon Slayer getting her name wrong. "My name is Virgo. I apologize for any trouble I might have caused you."

"She didn't just lose weight, Natsu!" Lucy yelled, her eyes bulging out.

Gray turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"She's like a totally different person now!" the blonde exclaimed.

"I do whatever I can to please my wizard, and that includes taking on the appearance that I feel my wizard would like best," Virgo explained.

"I don't know, I kinda liked it when you were big and tough like before," Natsu commented.

"Did you? Well then…" She glowed and instantly became the gorilla form that Natsu and Lucy had seen at Everlue's mansion. "…I can change back if you like," she said, her voice getting deeper as well.

Lucy and Gray freaked out. "Don't listen to him! I'm your wizard, and I say I like the other form better!" the Celestial Mage shouted.

Virgo glowed and changed back. "As you wish, Mistress." Lucy sighed in relief while Gray calmed down.

"I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time. Could we work out the contract details later?" Lucy asked.

"Of course, if that's what you want, Mistress," the pink-haired Spirit answered.

"Do you really have to call me Mistress?"

Virgo spied the whip on her belt. "Would you prefer if I called you Queen?"

"No!"

"How about Princess?"

"Oh yeah, that's more like it!" Lucy said.

Gray and Natsu deadpanned. "Princess? Yeah, right," the former stated.

"Could we move this along, ladies?" the Dragon Slayer urged.

"Yes, right away," Virgo said, her pupils and the black outline of her irises glowing red. "Now…" A seal materialized under her feet, and she dove into the earth, digging through it as easily as a Ground-type.

"Oh wow, look at her go!" the dark blue-haired exclaimed.

Erza stood up and walked over to the blonde. "Excellent work, Lucy." She slammed Lucy's head into her chest, intending to hug her, though just like with Natsu, it only ended up hurting the blonde.

"Alright guys, let's get out of here and catch up to Sparky!" Gray said. He turned when he heard Natsu grunt and saw him picking up Kage. "What are you doing, Natsu?"

"I know he's our enemy, but I'd feel bad if we just left him here when he needs proper treatment," Natsu explained. As he spoke, Kage seemed to regain consciousness. Erza looked surprised at his words but smiled afterward.

* * *

Now on the other side of the swirling wind, Erza and Gray turned to observe it. "Looks like we finally made it out!" Gray said over the wind.

"Let's start heading toward Clover!" Erza shouted.

"Whoa, this wind is really intense!" Lucy exclaimed, having trouble keeping her eyes open.

Virgo swiftly got behind her. "Princess! I'll make sure your panties don't show!" she said, holding Lucy's skirt down.

"Why don't you just worry about your own?" the Celestial Mage suggested, as the Spirit's own skirt was flapping up wildly, exposing her own panties to a now stupefied Gray.

"It's no use…" Kage muttered weakly, just loud enough for the Fairy Tail wizards to hear. They all faced him as he continued to speak. "You won't be able to catch up to Erigor now. You can't stop us. We've won!"

The Fairy Tail members just glared at him before Erza responded to his words. "That's where you're wrong. Sparky left some time ago to confront Erigor," she said, leaving the dark wizard in shock. "I have no doubt he managed to catch up to him by now."

Lucy glanced from side to side, noticing someone was not around anymore. "Hey guys, where did Natsu go?"

Erza and Gray jerked before looking around. "Happy's not here, either!" Gray noted. They realized what that meant: Natsu and Happy were already heading for Clover to help Sparky stop Erigor.

With no other option but to follow, the group started heading toward where they left the Magic Mobile. " _Natsu… you and Sparky both must defeat Erigor,_ " the redhead thought, knowing that the Guild Masters' fate hinged on their victory.

* * *

 **And that's done! I gotta say once again, I'm surprised it didn't take me too long to finish this chapter! Don't get used to quick updates though; I do still share this computer with two of my other siblings who are actively working on their own fanfictions.**

 **So how did you guys like this chapter? Were the fights to your liking? As revealed in this chapter, Sparky is quite versatile in how he uses his aura. He has also shown that he can shape it into weapons! Was anybody expecting that? I also gave Lucario some more screen time!**

 **So next chapter will be Sparky and Natsu against Erigor, and you guys will get to see Sparky's final two pokemon! I purposely left it out of this chapter for the sake of a cliffhanger!**

 **Also, I forgot to mention this at the end of the last chapter, but I've updated my profile! I'll be updating it again shortly, so you guys make sure to check it out!**

 **Another thing: I'm putting up a poll. This poll is EXTREMELY important for this story, as the theme revolves around an original arc I'm creating in the future. I need as many votes as possible to decide how things will go. Make sure to vote!**

 **With nothing else left to say, time to move on to my story recommendations:**

 **The Contender's Ascent by Insane Dominator – The final story of this series. It takes place six months after the end of A Contender's Bonds, where Nic and Erza are now married and have new adventures and new things to deal with. Read more to find out!**

 **Viridescent by darkfire1220 – This is a My Hero Academia fanfiction, a new anime I'm hooked on. This story is SO amazing! It's about Izuku possessing a Quirk that also belongs to his father, who is a supervillain. I won't say more than that; you guys have to go check it out!**

 **Green Haired Jinchuriki: Path to the Greatest Hero by Pilsen18th – This one is a Naruto/My Hero Academia crossover where Izuku has Kurama inside of him. It's very interesting, so go read it!**

 **Well, that's all for now. Remember to favorite, follow, and most importantly, review! Sparky D., out!**


	5. Music To My Ears

**Hey-o! Sparky D. is back with a new chapter! This chapter will wrap up the Lullaby Arc, and as I promised, you'll get to see Sparky's last two pokemon! Now to answer the reviews from last chapter:**

 **Youngid: Well, wait no further!**

 **Tejerina: Why, thank you! Sparky and Lucario can shape their aura into weapons if that's what you mean.**

 **lenz012696: Thanks a lot! I hope you like the fight! And no, we won't be seeing any Mega Evolution for a long while.**

 **Now let's get in with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Music To My Ears

In the space between the towns of Oshibana and Clover, there was only a massive canyon, dubbed Clover Canyon. The canyon stretched as far as the train line that was in it, and it was incredibly deep. There was only one way to get across this canyon, and that was by traveling on the train that followed these tracks.

However, if you were a wizard who could fly, there was always an alternate route.

Erigor had been calmly walking along the train line, knowing there was no need to rush as there was no possible way the Fairy Tail mages would be able to make it past his wind barrier. After some time, he stopped. "I'm so close to Clover and the Guild Masters that I can taste it," he noted anxiously. "And what's better is that the Magic that I used to create my wind barrier has been totally restored! Now it's time."

Once he finished saying those words, a Magic seal appeared under him and he began to levitate. "You fools not only took our work away from us, you robbed us of our rights! Now it's time for me to make you pay!" The scythe wielder took off at a high speed, flying toward Clover Town. "The Reaper's cleansing is nigh!" he declared.

About ten minutes later, he could make out the outline of a town in the distance. "I can see Clover up ahead. A bit farther and I'll have my revenge!" he said to himself. It was then he felt a very slight draft behind him. It was like a faint gust of wind that was slowly getting closer. He turned around and was shocked at what he was seeing.

Coming his way was what looked like a speeding golden-orange missile with intense winds whipping up behind it. With no time to react, the missile slammed into Erigor, making him cry out in pain as he crashed into the train tracks. The unknown object landed on the train line a bit farther than him, and upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a figure surrounded by a golden-orange aura. The aura then faded before the figure turned around. Once the Wind Mage got back to his feet, he was able to get a good look at what just hit him.

Standing a few feet away from him was a large owl-like creature with a white body and brown wings. A leafy, green hood covered his dark green face, with two green vines protruding from underneath it. White spots dotted the back of its wings, while there was a line of reddish-orange triangles on the inside of each wing. An orange marking that looked like a mask encircled his reddish-orange eyes. Three long, green leaves made up his tail.

"What the heck are you supposed to be?!" Erigor demanded.

The owl glared at him for a while before finally answering. "I am Decidueye… and I will not let you reach Clover."

"What?" the dark wizard was baffled, not just that this weird animal showed up out of nowhere, but that it also seemed to know where he was heading. Then things started to click. "Wait, you're one of those Fairy Tail flies, aren't you?" he questioned.

"Call us whatever you want, it won't change the fact that we're going to stop you," Decidueye declared.

Erigor took this as confirmation. " _Now just which one of them could this be? It's obviously not Titania, and it can't be the pink-haired boy; he uses fire. It must be one of the others… Wait._ " He remembered hearing Kage address that blond idiot, calling him a "weird dog creature." " _Could that brat be a Take Over Mage of sorts? Only one way to find out._ " The scythe wielded addressed the pokemon. "You're that blond kid back at the station, aren't you? So you use Take Over Magic."

Sparky's face didn't change as he figured it out. "You could say that," he answered.

"Well, I'm curious as to how you managed to escape my wind barrier," Erigor said.

"It wasn't hard. I've seen those kinds of moves before, and while it may be tough to break through the wind itself, there's usually two points of exit: up and down," Sparky explained. "Of course, your barrier closed off the top, but I guess it's too bad for you that you couldn't do the same underground, now could you?"

The scythe wielder frowned. " _So he went under the barrier. It seems I've underestimated him. I had him pegged as an imbecile, but he managed to find my barrier's weakness. He's apparently smarter than I gave him credit for. And if he's here, then his friends may very well be on their way. I can't let myself be held up by these insects!_ " He smirked at the avian. "Congratulations for figuring that out. However, I have a mission to complete, so I'm afraid I'll have to remove you by force!"

Erigor waved his hand, creating a seal, and from it, intense winds whipped about. Decidueye struggled to hold his ground as the winds caused dust to rise. Erigor smirked evilly as he figured that the pokemon was finished. He levitated back into the air and began to fly off.

Unbeknownst to the Eisenwald leader, Sparky wasn't as down as he thought.

Within the dust cloud, Decidueye pulled on the vines of his hood to tighten his focus. His eyes narrowed. "Like I said before…" He shot up, still under the lingering effects of the Tailwind he created before confronting Erigor, and stopped in front of the Wind Mage, catching him off guard. "I'm not letting you reach Clover!" His wings took on a light green glow and he slashed downward. " **Leaf Blade!** " The Grass-type attack hit Erigor, sending him back into the train line.

Sparky descended swiftly, not wanting to give the dark wizard a chance to react, and pulled an arrow quill from his wing. A shadowy aura surrounded the tip as he took aim and fired. Before Erigor could take off, the arrow circled around him and struck the ground in front of him, and he was hit by a burst of blue fire-like energy.

Erigor grunted in pain as the energy went away. "What was that supposed to do?!" he yelled, holding his palm out. " **Storm Bringer!** " A huge tornado was created around the pokemon as he struggled to hold his ground. With Sparky distracted, Erigor flew up and tried to flee, continuing on his course to Clover Town.

This time, however, the scythe wielder found himself unable to go more than a few feet farther. "What?!" he shouted, feeling an unknown force hold him back. He turned back to the dissipating tornado, and to his shock, Sparky was no longer there. "Where did that brat go?!"

Abruptly, a shadowy portal opened up behind Erigor, and Decidueye flew out of it. "Right behind you." As the dark wizard turned around, he found himself being tackled in the gut. He gawked as the force sent him tumbling through the air.

Once he managed to right himself, the leader of Eisenwald glared at the pokemon angrily. "How did you stop me from leaving and escape my spell?!" he demanded.

Decidueye looked on calmly as he flapped in place. "I used my **Spirit Shackle** attack to stitch your shadow to the ground and prevent you from running. Unless you defeat me, it cannot be undone," he explicated, making Erigor grit his teeth. "As to how I escaped, it was nothing for my **Phantom Force** attack."

Erigor tightened his grip on his weapon. " _This kid has such an unpredictable arsenal; I have no idea what to expect. I severely underestimated him. This may very well end up being a challenge for me!_ "

Sparky was also lost in his own thoughts. " _This guy uses wind attacks, and they feel somewhat similar to Flying-type attacks. That doesn't bode well for us._ "

" _ **Agreed. We need to determine what else he can do so that we aren't caught off guard,**_ " Decidueye mused.

" _Exactly. Let's do this, Decidueye!_ " The pokemon's wings glowed white for a second before becoming steel-clad, via Steel Wing. "So, ready to continue?"

Erigor smirked as he brandished his scythe. "I suppose so."

The two charged at each other and collided, the steel-on-steel contact making a loud clanging noise.

* * *

Meanwhile, further back on the train line, the sound of tires could be heard as the Magic Mobile hurried down with Erza as the driver and three people inside, one of which was surprisingly Kageyama.

"So explain something to me… why exactly are you people taking me with you?" he asked, not understanding why they would be helping him.

"Because you need medical attention!" Lucy answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Since Oshibana was evacuated, you'll have to see a doctor in Clover Town. You could be a little more grateful!"

"I don't understand. Why would you wanna help me when we're supposed to be enemies?" Kage questioned. Lucy just remained silent. "Oh wait, I get it now. You guys wanna use me as a hostage to try to bargain with Erigor, don't you? Well, I hate to break it to you, but he doesn't care about any of us."

The blonde deadpanned. "Man, someone really needs to lighten up."

"If you really want to die, then we can make that happen for you," Gray spoke up suddenly, catching the other two occupants by surprise.

"Whoa, chill, Gray!"

"There's a lot more to this world than life and death," the ice wizard continued. "Try to look for the good things, and maybe you'll see for yourself." The Eisenwald member looked stunned for a moment before closing his eyes, seemingly contemplating what the Fairy Tail mage told him.

Suddenly, the Magic Mobile lurched in the air, causing all of the people inside to temporarily go airborne. Kage, unfortunately, ended up with a face full of Lucy's butt. "What happened?!" Gray called out to Erza.

"Don't worry, everything is fine now!" she shouted back.

The Celestial Mage was apologizing to Kageyama. "I am so sorry!"

"Geez, could your butt be any bigger?!"

Of course, his comment ticked Lucy off, and as she screamed at Gray to attack him, the ice wizard just sweatdropped. "Well, there goes the serious mood."

Outside, Erza was still driving but was having trouble keeping her eyes open. " _My vision is starting to get hazy. Did I use more Magic than I initially realized? Sparky… Natsu… you two must defeat Erigor,_ " the redhead thought. " _Everything lies in your hands now. Please… don't fail me!_ "

* * *

Both Erigor and Decidueye reeled back from their most recent clash, the steel sheen of the latter's wings fading. They had already been fighting for a couple of minutes, and both were panting lightly as they pondered their next move.

The dark wizard made the first move, thrusting his palm forward and firing another blast of wind with a yell at the Arrow Quill pokemon. In response, the Grass/Ghost-type reared his wings back. " **Ominous Wind!** " He flapped them multiple times, sending a dark wind to counter Erigor's own. The two winds collided and canceled each other out.

Erigor growled upon seeing his spell get countered. " _Just how many tricks does this brat have up his sleeve?! Let's see him stop this!_ " He created another Magic circle. " **Storm Shred!** " he yelled. Blades of winds were sent flying at Sparky, but he simply reactivated his Steel Wing and blocked the attack with ease, frustrating the Eisenwald leader further.

Though he didn't know it, Erigor was gradually wearing Sparky down. " _Gotta try something else!_ " he thought. The inside of his mouth glowed white and he fired multiple seeds that were glowing green at the Wind Mage. " **Seed Bomb!** "

Erigor held out a hand in front of him. " **Storm Wall!** " he shouted, blocking the Grass-type attack with a wall of wind. The seeds detonated in mid-air.

Decidueye watched on with narrowed eyes. " _So he can also use his wind defensively,_ " he thought. He grew cautious when he saw Erigor hold his palm out toward him again.

" **Storm Bringer!** " he yelled, once again making the large tornado the trapped the pokemon. He stared at it for a few seconds. " _He escaped this spell with ease last time, but this time I'll be ready for him!_ " He glanced behind him but was confused when he saw no portal. " _What's going on? Why isn't he escaping?_ " Looking back at his tornado, he noticed something off: there was a bright light shining inside. He only had a second to think about that before Decidueye burst out of the tornado, cloaked in the same golden aura he had when Erigor had first spotted him.

"I said it was tough to break through the winds, not impossible! **Sky Attack!** " he called.

The scythe wielder hurriedly ascended to avoid the attack, and barely succeeded in doing so as Decidueye passed under him. Turning around, he charged at Erigor again, only for him to fly to the side and blast him with more wind as he passed, blowing him out of his Sky Attack and sending him tumbling through the air.

Sparky managed to right himself in mid-air and faced the Eisenwald leader. " _Dang it. I thought for sure I'd get him with that. I have to figure out what to do now…_ " Then he noticed something coming their way from behind Erigor, and it was coming in fast. Sparky gazed at the object until he finally recognized what, or rather, who it was. " _And I think we've got the advantage now._ "

Erigor chuckled when he saw Decidueye back away slightly. "What's wrong, fly? Are you running low on juice? Because I'm just getting warmed up!"

The pokemon smirked, or at least gave the closest thing he could to a smirk since he had a beak, something which bewildered the dark wizard. "That's good. You were barely holding your own against me, so you'll need all of your power if you wanna take on both of us."

His statement only made Erigor even more confused, until he heard someone yell behind him. He turned around and was utterly shocked to see Happy flying toward him while carrying Natsu.

"I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW HAPPY COULD FLY AT MACH SPEED, DID YA?!" the Dragon Slayer screamed.

"Aye!"

Once he was close enough, he lunged forward and landed a flaming kick to Erigor's face, as he was too stunned by his sudden appearance to react in time. The blow sent the scythe wielder into the train line while Natsu touched down safely, catching Happy in his arms shortly after.

"Are you okay, buddy?" he asked in concern.

The cat was sweating profusely, but he managed to respond. "I'm fine… just really tired. I don't think I'll be able to fly for a while…"

"Don't worry, Happy. You've done enough. Just rest for now," Natsu told him softly. He stood up and straight, then noticed the pokemon staring back at him. He tilted his head inquisitively. "Who are you?"

"Oh, come on, Natsu, you don't recognize your friend?" Sparky said in amusement, making the pink-haired mage's eyes widen in surprise.

"Sparky?!"

Happy glimpsed at the Arrow Quill pokemon. "This must be another one of his pokemon!" he reasoned.

Natsu became excited again. "Whoa! What's this one called?"

"I am Decidueye," he answered.

Before Natsu could respond, Erigor's voice rang out from the smoke cloud that was slowly fading away. "It's you. I see you managed to escape my wind barrier, too. How troublesome." The smoke cleared fully, revealing the dark wizard on his feet with a few more bruises ascertained from Natsu's attack.

Natsu fists ignited as he glowered at Erigor. "You want trouble, I'll give you trouble! I'll burn you and your creepy flute to a crisp!"

Erigor seemed unmoved. "Why don't you step out of my way so I can finish dealing with your friend?" Without waiting for a response from the Dragon Slayer, he sent an intense gust of wind at Natsu, and he struggled to not be blown away, literally.

"Is that the best you can do?" he strained.

"Natsu, jump!" Decidueye ordered. Though he wondered what Sparky had in mind, Natsu listened. His feet burst into flames and he managed to propel himself into the air, leaving the attack to go racing toward Sparky. However, he was prepared as he flapped his wings. " **Ominous Wind!** " Once again, the Ghost-type attack intercepted and canceled out Erigor's spell.

The scythe wielder grit his teeth as he glared at the pokemon, but then his eyes widened when he heard Natsu scream from above and he quickly turned his attention back to him. The Dragon Slayer was currently descending toward him with a flaming fist, so he swiftly jumped back to barely avoid the crushing blow.

" _He doesn't just attack with his fire; he can also use it to jump higher into the air?!_ " Erigor thought. He blocked another fire fist from Natsu with his scythe before flying back into the air. " _I underestimated this one, too. The Take Over Mage was enough trouble, but these two working together may end up being too much for me! I need to remove one of them from the picture!_ "

"Hey, quit floating where I can't reach you! Get down here so we can fight!" Natsu demanded.

"I'll get him down!" Sparky declared, flying up toward the Eisenwald leader while Natsu was forced to remain on the ground since he couldn't fly.

Erigor's eyes narrowed. " _Now's my chance!_ " He aimed his palm at the pink-haired teen and yelled, "You shouldn't let your guard down, you insects! **Storm Bringer!** " He created the giant tornado again, only this time Natsu was caught up in it. The Dragon Slayer screamed as he was spun around at high speeds.

"Natsu!" Happy cried worriedly. He tried to activate his Aera Magic, but it was futile. Natsu began plummeting into the canyon, much to his friends' horror.

"Natsu!" Sparky shouted in slight panic, immediately making a beeline for the falling Dragon Slayer. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a mistake.

Erigor sneered as the pokemon turned away from him. "Gotcha now, you fly! **Storm Shred!** " He sent the blades of wind at Decidueye, who was unable to activate his Steel Wing in time to block it. The blades hit him dead-on, sending him falling down the canyon as well, as his wings were greatly damaged from the attack.

"Sparky!" Happy cried.

As he fell into the canyon, Erigor smirked. "Good luck getting out of the canyon without the use of your wings!"

Despite the pain he was in, Sparky managed to smirk at the airborne wizard, catching him off guard. "Challenge accepted!" he shouted back, still going down at a steady rate until he was out of sight.

* * *

In the blue void that was their mind, Sparky turned to Decidueye. "Sorry, Decidueye. You've taken too much damage; I have to change back." Then he smirked. "But don't worry, I know exactly who to use to beat him now."

The Arrow Quill pokemon nodded in understanding, having a pretty good idea who was coming out now. " _Good luck, Sparky._ " The trainer smiled reassuringly in response as he changed back to his normal self. However, once he did, he felt himself become short on breath.

" _Oh no! I must be running low on Magic!_ " he realized. As he continued to fall, he tried his hardest to concentrate. " _Come on, I have to transform again to beat this guy! Everyone's counting on me!_ " As he focused, a red Magic circle materialized under him, the center part being sky blue.

* * *

Everything was silent for a few seconds as Erigor peered into the canyon. Strangely, he noticed a white light glowing, after which he felt a bit lighter, followed by a second light before it faded away. Nothing happened for a few more seconds, making Erigor smirk while Happy looked worried.

Then, simultaneously, two enormous pillars of flame erupted.

The dark wizard's smug look instantly changed to one of utter shock. The blue cat smiled in relief, but he also became confused. One of the pillars was obviously Natsu, but what about the second one? It had to be Sparky, but none of his pokemon had displayed any abilities to use fire like that. " _Could this be Sparky's final pokemon?_ " he wondered.

As one of the flames died down, the other one morphed into a giant hand that grabbed onto the train line. At the other end was Natsu, using the fire hand to pull himself out of the canyon. Once he was back on the tracks, he smiled to himself. "Now I understand what you meant… thank you, Macao." He then turned toward the dark canyon, as did everyone else, when he heard a loud roar. Squinting, he could make out another flame, this one moving fast, much to his surprise.

Finally, the pokemon Sparky had changed into revealed itself, and everyone was incredibly stunned at what they were seeing.

Standing before them was an orange, draconic creature. His underbelly was cream-colored, from his chest to the tip of his tail. He had blue eyes, two horns on his head, and a long neck. He also had skinny arms and stocky legs. His most notable features were the two large wings on his back, and the flame burning on the tip of his tail.

Natsu and Happy were left gaping at the sight in front of them. Happy was first to speak. "Is that…?"

"A dragon?!" Natsu exclaimed.

The pokemon looked back at them. "Close, but no cigar. It's easy to mistake Charizard to for a dragon, though," he said with a chuckle.

Erigor gawked at the new pokemon Sparky turned into. " _A dragon?! Just where is this kid getting his Take Overs?! I don't even know what this thing can do, but I can guess it probably uses fire since it has a flame on its tail. If that's the case, I should still hold the advantage…_ "

Charizard faced the scythe wielder again, glaring intensely. "Now I believe we should proceed with burning this guy to a crisp."

The Dragon Slayer smirked. "I'm with you there!" he agreed. Taking a deep breath as his cheeks puffed up, he unleashed his signature breath attack. " **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

Charizard opened his mouth and released a torrent of red-orange flames at the Wind Mage. " **Flamethrower!** " he called out.

The two fire attacks raced toward Erigor, who held his palm out in a hurry. "It's no use! Your flames won't work against me! **Storm Wall!** " he shouted, making a wall of wind that barely held the flames back. It was evident that he took slight damage from the fire due to the barely noticeable burns on his hands. " _Is this the power that all Fairy Tail wizards have? It appears I'll have to use my trump card!_ "

"Natsu, let's wrap this up before Erza and the others get here," Sparky said.

"Sure thing!" the pink-haired teen replied.

Erigor glared at his opponents. "Your power may be something else, but it's still not enough to beat me! Now I'm getting serious!" Spinning his scythe rapidly in front of him, a seal materialized in front of him. " **Storm Mail!** " Another whirlwind erupted, but this time the Fairy Tail members weren't the target. Natsu and Sparky watched as the wind wrapped around the dark wizard like armor. "Here I come!"

The Eisenwald leader charged at Natsu, who tried to intercept with a flaming fist only to be knocked back. He flew at Charizard next.

Green energy took the shape of a large claw around the pokemon's right forearm. " **Dragon Claw!** " he shouted, rushing at Erigor. The Wind Mage intercepted with his scythe, leaving the two at a stalemate until the intense winds from Erigor's Storm Mail finally became too much for Sparky and he was blown back.

"What's wrong? Can't take a little breeze?" Erigor taunted.

"You coward! You just had to go and wrap a wind barrier around yourself!" the pink-haired mage yelled.

The Flame Pokemon growled before his body glowed white for a second. " **Aerial Ace!** " he called. He began moving at high speeds as he charged at the Wind Mage, and his right wing managed to make contact with Erigor. After a brief struggle, Sparky managed to shove the dark wizard away, but his Storm Mail blocked most of the attack, leaving Erigor unharmed. " _So this spell is similar to the wind barrier he left at the station. Problem is, I don't know if I'll be able to break through this one either, and there don't appear to be any openings._ "

Natsu created another Magic circle. "This one will get through for sure! **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " He slammed his fist into the Storm Mail, but much to his shock, his flames sizzled out after a few seconds. "What? My fire went out? How did that happen?"

Erigor chuckled menacingly. "Just like I thought, you can't do anything without your flames. Now I've got the upper hand!"

"That's what you think!" Sparky declared, but before he could attempt to attack him, the harsh winds blew sent them skidding backward.

"Unfortunately for you, the winds of my **Storm Mail** attack blow outwardly! If you get too close, the winds will simply blow out your fire and leave you helpless to fight!" Erigor rose higher into the air. "Fire stands no chance against wind!"

Charizard spread his wings. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not limited to just fire attacks!" Taking flight, he flew at the Wind Mage, fighting the winds and reactivating his Dragon Claw. He slashed at him, but his attack was once again countered by Erigor's scythe. Expecting this, he quickly used his second claw and swiped against Erigor's Storm Mail, sending him backward while Sparky also had to back up due to the winds.

" _His defense is too tough! I need to hit it harder if I wanna break through it!_ " Sparky thought. His body glowed with a red light as black electricity crackled around him. " **Dragon Dance!** " he shouted, the red light being replaced by a red aura that encompassed him momentarily before disappearing.

Erigor's eyes narrowed. " _What was that supposed to do? It doesn't look like anything has changed…_ " he wondered. He received his answer when the pokemon went speeding toward him, this time faster than before, much to his own shock.

"Whoa! It's like he suddenly got faster!" Happy noted.

" **Dragon Claw!** " he called out, the green energy forming around his claws for the umpteenth time. The difference this time, though, was that the attack looked slightly larger.

Not wanting him to get to close, Erigor created another seal in front of him. " **Storm Shred!** " he yelled, sending a multitude of wind blades at Sparky. It was futile, however, as the pokemon simply sliced through every one that came his way. Some of the blades went toward Natsu as well, but the Dragon Slayer swiftly avoided them.

"Take this!" Sparky yelled, fighting the harsh winds that Erigor sent his way once more and slashing at the dark wizard. Erigor tried to counter with his scythe again, but this time Sparky managed to overpower the Eisenwald leader and send him sailing backward. While the Storm Mail absorbed most of the blow, Erigor still felt some pain from the attack.

" _Did that last move make him stronger and faster somehow?!_ " Erigor wondered. " _How many tricks could this kid have up his sleeves?!_ "

Then he heard Natsu scream and turned to see the pink-haired mage leap toward him, using his flames as a boost. Natsu tried to hit him with another flaming fist, but Erigor simply increased the intensity of his winds, repelling the Dragon Slayer. He crashed into the train line, kicking up a lot of dust.

"Natsu!" the blue cat cried in worry.

The dust cleared, revealing Natsu on one knee. "Man, I can't even get close enough to hit this guy! What do I do now?!"

"Leave it to me, then!" Charizard called as he readied to attack Erigor again.

The dark wizard glared ahead. " _I have to take them out now!_ " A Magic circle materialized in front of him, surrounded by multiple smaller seals. "I'm going to end this now! **Emera Baram!** "

Happy looked anxious. "Guys, that spell is bad news! Don't get hit by it!" he warned.

Sparky acknowledged this warning and swerved around the Wind Mage to make sure he didn't get hit. However, Erigor didn't bother trying to lock onto him, instead continuing to face forward.

" _What's he doing? I figured he'd want to take me out first, so why isn't he trying to aim for…?_ " Sparky followed the dark wizard's gaze and realized who his target was. " _He's going for Natsu!_ " Without a moment to spare, he flew back toward his fellow Fairy Tail member.

"Goodbye, Fairy Tail fly!" he yelled, firing off his attack at the Dragon Slayer, who was too exhausted and unable to move in time to evade it. Fortunately, he found he didn't have to as the Flame Pokemon rushed to his aid and landed right behind him.

" _No time to dodge; I've gotta block!_ " he thought frantically as he folded his wings in front of both of them. The wings glowed before becoming steel-clad. " **Steel Wing!** "

The attack connected, and the harsh winds that were as fierce as a tornado sent both fire wielders sprawling backward. The two landed behind Happy with a thud, Charizard looking to be in worse condition than Natsu.

"Natsu! Sparky! You guys have to get back up!" Happy cried.

Erigor chuckled evilly. "I'm surprised to see their bodies are even still intact after getting hit by that attack. I suppose it's not too shabby for a couple of young wizards, especially one who can turn into a dragon." He didn't notice the pokemon's wings start to twitch as he continued to speak. "Once I've played a melody on the Lullaby flute for those old fools, they'll be able to keep you company in your eternal rest!"

He was finally cut off by a fist slamming into the rails. The scythe wielder looked shocked to see the injured pink-haired Dragon Slayer rise to his feet and remove his vest. "Every word you say has to do with that stupid flute! If you wanna kill the Guild Masters, you'll have to go through me!"

A tail crashing into the ground caught everyone's attention, and they all turned to see Sparky standing up as well. "I won't let anyone die on my watch!" the Flame Pokemon roared, despite the numerous cuts and bruises on his body.

"This can't be! How can you still stand?!" Erigor demanded.

Sparky glowered at the dark wizard. "I managed to reduce the damage by using **Steel Wing**. Wind doesn't hold up so well against steel." His eyes narrowed. " _Even so, that attack did more damage than I had expected. We need to hurry up and take this guy out!_ "

Natsu's fists became engulfed in flames. "Enough talk! It's time to fight!" He jumped toward the dark wizard, who made no move to stop him.

"I told you already, your attacks won't work on me!" Erigor shouted. True to his words, the winds from his Storm Mail blew outward and forced Natsu back, no matter how hard he struggled to fight it. The Dragon Slayer managed to land on one knee while Erigor just chuckled at his misfortune.

"Try and stop this, then!" Charizard yelled as he flew toward the Eisenwald leader. As he flew, blue energy erupted from his body and took the shape of a dragon, leaving everyone watching stunned. " **Dragon Rush!** " With his powerful attack, the pokemon easily smashed through the winds attempting to push him back and crashed directly into Erigor. Even with his Storm Mail active, he still felt much of the blow as he was sent soaring backward, and the earlier Dragon Dance didn't help him.

Erigor winced as he managed to catch himself on the ground. " _Damn, this kid is tough. All of his attacks are incredibly powerful, and the fact that he uses more than just fire attacks is definitely a problem, not to mention he can boost his strength and speed. I must find some way to beat him; he's definitely a bigger threat than the other kid!_ "

Sparky stood in front of Natsu. "Don't worry, Natsu, I'll take this guy down!" he proclaimed.

Natsu didn't respond; instead, he grabbed one of the rails and ignited his body out of rage. "What the heck is wrong with me?! I can't even get close to him! I can't take it anymore! I have to beat him!"

Happy and Sparky stared at him in surprise. "Natsu…" the latter mumbled. Then he noticed something strange: the wind seemed to be picking up around Natsu. As the Dragon Slayer screamed angrily, his fire increased in size and even set some of the surrounding rocks on fire.

" _What is this? His fire becomes more intense as he gets angrier?_ " Erigor thought.

"Whoa… he's changing the direction of the wind!" Happy realized.

Natsu ripped apart the iron bar he had been holding as his flames grew stronger. "Flames of Emotion?!" the scythe wielder gasped. "That's an ancient Magic, so how could this kid know it?!" Then he noticed something was wrong. " _No way! He's somehow drawing my wind toward him!_ "

Happy gasped. "Of course! Natsu!" The pink-haired teen looked over to his cat friend, probably expecting some encouragement, but he was dead wrong. "You're useless here. Just let Sparky finish things up since he can actually hit the guy."

Natsu looked dumbfounded at his words until he erupted in fury. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" he screamed, his fire growing even more intense.

Erigor looked stunned. "His flames are blowing away my **Storm Mail!** "

Sparky blinked. "Whoa, Happy. That was kinda harsh," he said. However, as Natsu continued to get angrier, his fire increased in size, until there was no more wind surrounding the Eisenwald leader. The Flame Pokemon smirked. "But thanks for the opening!"

Erigor's eyes widened. "This can't be happening!"

"Oh, it's happening! You're going down, Erigor!" Charizard roared. His body was then encompassed in flames in a manner similar to Natsu. Unlike the pink-haired mage, the fire turned blue after a few seconds. With another roar, he rocketed forward with intense force, smashing into the evil wizard. " **Flare Blitz!** " he called out.

Erigor gawked as the hit sent him flying into the air. Sparky stopped in place and winced as red sparks covered his form momentarily before whirling around to face Natsu. "Natsu! Bring it home!"

The Dragon Slayer heard him loud and clear. "I'M GONNA TAKE YOU DOWN!" he screamed. Still surrounded by fire, he leaped toward the airborne wizard and crashed into him hard. " **FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!** "

Erigor felt his world go black. " _Could it really be? This kid… he's a Dragon Slayer!_ " He crashed into the train line again, finally out cold.

Seeing that the fight was over, Charizard glowed and changed back to Sparky. The trainer grinned, panting heavily. "We did it!" he exclaimed tiredly.

The fire surrounding Natsu dwindled down to nothing. "So how was that, Happy?"

"You sure showed him that if you mess with the Salamander, you'll wind up getting burned! You and Sparky both!"

Natsu glared at the cat. "Funny, you didn't sound so sure a few minutes ago."

"Cats don't have the greatest memories," Happy tried to defend himself.

"You said I should stand down and let Erza take care of him!"

"Wow, your memory is even worse than mine."

Sparky was quick to step in. "Regardless of what was said, the important thing is that we took down Erigor, and he was the last person from Eisenwald standing in our way, which means we've stopped their plans!"

Natsu and Happy smiled in agreement. The Dragon Slayer turned to Sparky, looking like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped when Sparky suddenly fell backward to a sitting position, still panting and trying to recover from using too much Magic in a relatively short period of time. Stunned, he opened his mouth to ask his friend if he was alright when he heard someone calling his name. Looking up, he and the rest of the group saw the remaining members of Fairy Tail driving up to them.

"Natsu!" Lucy called.

The pink-haired mage grinned in their direction. "Hey, what took you guys so long? You didn't get to see me defeat Erigor!"

The trainer deadpanned. "I was here, too, you know."

"You guys beat Erigor?" Erza asked in slight surprise. Sparky grinned at her in response as he managed to get back to his feet, and the redhead smiled back with a slight tinge of pink in her cheeks. "Well done, you two. I'm proud of you."

Her words made the blond's smile widen, but it was quickly replaced with concern as he took in her slightly exhausted state being supported by Lucy. "Hey, are you alright, Erza?" he inquired worriedly.

She smiled reassuringly. "There's no need to worry about me. I'll be fine." It was then her turn to look worried when she observed he was breathing a bit heavily. "What about you? You seem exhausted."

Sparky smiled at her concern. "Just a bit of Magic overuse. I should be fine in a minute or two," he said to alleviate her worries.

Kageyama stepped out of the Magic Mobile and stared at the defeated body of Erigor in shock. " _Whoa, they actually managed to beat Erigor?! But he's never lost a fight before!_ " He gulped before spotting the Lullaby flute lying on the ground not far from the unconscious dark wizard.

Meanwhile, Gray was taunting Natsu about the difficult fight. "I can't believe this guy gave you so much trouble."

"That's not true!" Natsu snapped. "Just ask Sparky!"

The aforementioned teen raised a brow. "Do you really want me to respond to that?"

"Aye," Happy agreed. "Sparky seemed to be doing fine, but you struggled a lot in the fight."

"You didn't have to tell him that!"

"That's what happened," the trainer said with a shrug.

"Whatever," Gray grunted. He turned his attention to Sparky. "Hey Sparky, we're grateful for the message you sent, but if you figured out we could dig under the wind barrier, then why not just tell us yourself?"

Sparky looked a bit sheepish. "I wanted to tell you guys, but I had learned that Erigor was already on his way to Clover. I didn't want to give him more time to get there, so I figured I'd slow him down at the least to give you all a chance to catch up. Also, the only pokemon I have on me that can use **Dig** is Pikachu, and the holes he digs aren't exactly big enough for a person to squeeze through," he explained.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," the ice wizard relented as he faced Natsu again. "By the way, you should see how stupid you look only wearing a scarf without a shirt on."

"As if you have room to talk!" the Dragon Slayer retorted, referring to Gray's missing shirt. "Lucy, give me your clothes!"

"That is so not happening!"

Erza chuckled. "Well, as I said before, you two did a marvelous job. Now the Guild Masters are no longer in danger." The rest of the Fairy Tail members beamed at her words. "Since we're already so close to Clover, I think we should stop by their Conference Hall to fill them in on what happened and ask how to dispose of the Lullaby flute."

"I think that's a great idea!" the blue cat agreed.

Sparky was about to offer his own input, but then he noticed something and his eyes widened in shock. "Watch out!" he called out in warning.

The next second, the Magic Mobile was driving off, Kageyama sitting in the driver's seat and a shadowy hand clutching the flute.

"Kage!" Erza shouted, stunned.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Gray questioned angrily.

"Lullaby's mine, now! That's what you get for dropping your guard, you insects!" the dark wizard yelled back as he drove away, laughing maniacally.

At first, the Fairy Tail group just stood there as if they couldn't believe what just happened. Finally, after several seconds, the trainer was the first to speak.

"Did that seriously just happen?" he questioned.

"That jerk!" Natsu fumed.

"This is the thanks we get for saving his life?!" Lucy screamed in disbelief.

"Quickly, we must go after him!" the armored wizard ordered. Not wasting any more time, the six Fairy Tail members hurried after the Eisenwald wizard, hoping to reach him before it was too late.

* * *

The sun had set and night had fallen by the time Kage had managed to reach the Guild Master Conference Hall. " _This looks like a safe distance to play Lullaby. The Guild Masters should be able to hear it from here. It's finally time to get our revenge!_ " Then he heard odd smooching noises coming from behind him and freaked out. Whirling around, the Eisenwald mage spotted Makarov sitting on a rock and reading a Sorcerer's Weekly magazine with women on the cover.

"Wow, there are some hot little numbers in this week's issue! Man, young female wizards are much more powerful than they were back in my day! Not to mention hotter!" the old man said before snapping out of his perverted behavior. "No, there's no time for fooling around! I have to go catch up to those morons before they wind up destroying a whole town! And I don't even want to think about the kind of damage Sparky may have been causing!"

He took a step forward before abruptly realizing he wasn't alone when he spun around to see Kage staring at him. "This isn't what it looks like! I was doing some research on female wizards, honest!" he screamed, panicking.

"I don't care."

Makarov sighed in relief, then took note of the black-haired man's wounds, especially the bandages wrapped around his torso. "Those injuries look serious, boy. You should be resting in a hospital right now in your condition."

"Yeah, you're right," Kage replied. Then he took a closer look at the old man in front of him. " _Wait a second… that's the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov. Why do I keep running into these flies?_ " As Makarov started to walk away, Kageyama called out to him again, getting him to pause. "Excuse me, sir, would it be alright if I played a song for you? They wouldn't let me play at the hospital. It would be really nice to play for someone again."

The Guild Master scrutinized the instrument in his hands. "…That flute looks pretty creepy," he commented.

"I know, but it sounds wonderful! You have to hear it!"

Makarov thought about it for a few seconds. "Well… I'm kind of in a hurry, but I suppose I have time for one song," he decided.

"Oh, thank you very much!" the dark wizard said joyfully. Internally, he was thinking that Eisenwald succeeded. "Make sure you listen carefully!"

"Yeah, I got it."

The Eisenwald mage raised the flute to his lips but found himself hesitating, thinking about the remarks his guildmates made about legal guilds and what Eisenwald wanted. As he was about to play, Sparky, Lucy, and Gray's words came to mind.

" _Those innocent people don't deserve to suffer just because you couldn't accept the fact that killing became outlawed!_ "

" _Killing them won't give you your rights back!_ "

" _Try to look for the good things, and maybe you'll see for yourself._ "

He became more hesitant to play the flute as he recalled how worried they were for him and how angry Natsu had been when he had almost been killed. Despite the fact that they were his enemies, they were still concerned for him and even treated his wounds.

Not far away, the Fairy Tail wizards had finally reached the Conference Hall. Sparky was still panting lightly, though he had regained some more Magic.

"There he is!" Gray stated once he spotted the Eisenwald mage with the Fairy Tail Guild Master. Before any of them could rush toward them, they were stopped by a man wearing heels and makeup.

"Shh!" he said, though his sudden appearance made Natsu, Lucy, and Gray scream in fright.

The trainer did a double take when this strange person came into view. " _Is that a guy?!_ " he thought.

The man continued talking. "Things are about to get good." Then he noticed Natsu and Gray. "Oh my, you boys look delicious!" The two were creeped out at the cross-dressing man. Fortunately for Sparky, he hadn't spotted him yet, and the blond intended to keep it that way.

Erza seemed surprised when Sparky swiftly retreated past her and behind a tree, carefully poking his head out so as to not get seen. "So, uh… who is that?" he inquired nervously.

The redhead blinked before smiling in amusement as she answered his question, while Lucy was quick to jump back to Erza's side. "That's Master Bob."

"Oh Erza, you've really grown," the person in question noted.

That was a name Lucy had heard before. "You mean to tell me that this freaky guy is the Guild Master of Blue Pegasus?!"

"He's a Guild Master? Why is he dressed like that?" Sparky questioned. Before anyone could respond, he said, "Actually, never mind, I don't want to know."

Meanwhile, Makarov was still just standing and staring at Kageyama. He raised a brow at the lack of music being played. "Well? I don't have all night to wait," he spoke, sounding impatient.

Kage hesitated again, then brought the flute closer to his mouth.

The Fairy Tail group started to panic, getting ready to jump in, when another voice spoke up from behind them. "Hey, keep it down. We're almost at the good part."

Turning around, Erza and Lucy were slightly stunned to see a man wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a spiked dog collar around his neck. Of course, the trainer wasn't caught off guard since he had sensed him. The blonde recognized him right away.

"That's the Guild Master of Quatro Cerberus!" she exclaimed.

"Correct, that Master Goldmine," the redhead confirmed with a nod.

Sparky stared at him strangely. "Do all Guild Masters have weird attires?" he questioned inquisitively.

Goldmine went on. "Don't worry, kids, everything will be fine."

The two girls looked uncertain, but to their surprise, Sparky spoke up. "I think they're on to something… Kage seems to be hesitating, like he's not sure wants to do it."

The Guild Master gazed at Sparky curiously. "Oh? How can _you_ tell that?"

"It's a long story," the Aura Guardian replied.

Makarov stared at the black-haired man as he continued to wait. "Well?"

Even so, Kageyama remained unsure of what action he should take. " _I can do this. I only need to play one song and everything will change!_ " he thought.

The old man remained silent before he began speaking again. "Nothing's going to change," he stated as though he could read Kage's mind, making the latter's eyes widen in shock. Makarov continued as the Eisenwald mage lowered the flute and the Fairy Tail wizards, Bob, and Goldmine listened to him talk. "You cannot change the fact that those who are weak will be that way forever. It may just be me, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I mean, we humans are weak creatures by nature; our insecurities are the reason that guilds exist in the first place, and why we have friends. When we're surrounded with allies, it's easier to stay positive about the future. Think of it this way: if we're clumsy, then we may stumble and bump into things, but as long as we have faith in our future, then we will keep marching on as our inner strength emerges on its own. But we must choose that path and pledge to live our lives to the fullest!" He smiled softly. "Don't let that silly flute block your path."

As he finished talking, Kage thought over his words. He couldn't help but feel inspired by them, and as a result, he dropped the Lullaby flute and got down to his hands and knees. "I surrender."

The Fairy Tail mages smiled in relief before running from their hiding spot to make themselves known. "Master!" Erza called.

"You stopped him!" Natsu said.

"Way to go, Gramps!" Gray added.

"That was a very inspiring speech," Sparky commented in awe.

Makarov was floored, clearly not expecting the very wizards he had been worried would be out destroying cities to abruptly show up out of nowhere. "What the— what are you kids doing in Clover?!" he questioned.

Rather than answer, though, the armored wizard slammed the old man's head into her chest. "Oh Master, your words were so moving that I almost burst into tears!" she stated, sounding like she was about to start crying. However, Makarov's pained expression showed that even he was not immune to Erza's "hugs."

"Well, it looks like we made it here just in time to watch Gramps talk his way out of another problem," the ice mage remarked with a smile. For a moment, it seemed like everything would be alright. Lucy appeared to be consoling Kage, Natsu was enthusiastically patting Makarov on the head while the rest of his Fairy Tail friends watched with amusement. The other two Guild Masters gazed at the scene before them.

Then Sparky suddenly turned away, the smile fading from his face. "Hey… do you guys feel that?" he inquired, sounding a bit worried.

He gained the attention of everyone around him as they glanced at him with curiosity. "What do you mean, Sparky? What are you feeling?" Erza asked.

The trainer's brow furrowed. "I feel some sort of dark force emanating nearby," he revealed. He stared in the direction it seemed to be coming from, while everyone else followed his gaze, and almost instantly spotted the flute. Something was off about it, though; mostly the fact that the eyeholes were glowing purple, it was sparking, and a black mist seemed to be wafting off of it.

Deep, booming laughter could be heard coming from the flute. " **I've had it with you cowardly wizards and your antics!** " it said, shocking the Fairy Tail mages.

"Something came out!" the cat gasped.

A huge Magic circle appeared in the sky and purple lightning crackled out of it as everyone, including the army of knights, watched in shock. " **I can no longer hold back! It's time I come forth and devour you myself!** " the voice declared as the Magic circle shined brightly. Once the light faded, an enormous monster stood in front of them, looking to be made of wood and having three eyes, just as the flute did. " **I shall feast on your pathetic souls!** "

"It's huge!" the Celestial Mage exclaimed in horror.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Lucy!" Happy retorted.

"Meh, I've seen scarier things," Sparky commented nonchalantly.

"What is that supposed to be?! Erigor never mentioned a monster!" Kage shouted.

"It seems we're in a pickle," Bob remarked.

"That must be a demon from the Book of Zeref," Goldmine stated.

The other Guild Masters were all running out of the Conference Hall and away from the giant monster in fear.

"Why did the flute suddenly turn into a monster?!" Lucy questioned.

"This is Lullaby's true form. It's forbidden Black Magic," Goldmine answered. "Living Magic. Zeref's specialty."

The trainer tilted his head in confusion. "Who's Zeref?"

"He's the evilest wizard to ever exist. He was incredibly powerful back in his day, but I never once thought that his dark legacy would pop back up again," Bob answered this time.

Lullaby towered over the group of wizards menacingly. " **Now which of these delectable souls shall I dine upon first?** " it wondered.

"Delectable, huh?" Natsu responded. Then he gained a hungry look on his face. "Do you think souls taste good, Gray?" he asked excitedly.

"How would I know that?!" the ice mage retorted in annoyance.

"Always thinking with his stomach," Lucy said.

"You actually know what delectable means?" Sparky inquired curiously.

Erza turned to face them. "Natsu, Gray, Sparky! I want you to move everyone a safe distance away!"

"You got it!" Sparky agreed at once, taking off to fulfill her request.

Naturally, Natsu and Gray were more reluctant to listen. "Quit barking orders!" the former yelled.

"Yeah, you're not the boss of us!" Gray agreed.

She glowered at them, scaring them. "Just do it!"

"Aye, sir!" they said, running off after the blond.

Then the army of knights that were there charged forward, ready to take on the demon themselves. However, after watching it destroy a mountain with one blast, they ran away in terror.

Lullaby turned back to the four Fairy Tail mages standing in front of it: Natsu, Sparky, Gray, and Erza. " **I have no need for those pitiful humans. I wish to devour wizard souls, and I will eat all of yours!** " it stated.

"Oh yeah?! Well, good luck trying!" Natsu countered.

"Good luck!" the Guild Masters called encouragingly from far away.

The blonde stood not far from them. "Will those four be able to take down Lullaby by themselves?" she wondered.

"Why don't you help them?" Happy suggested.

"Normally I would, but none of my Celestial Spirits are available right now, and I'm pretty sure I'd just slow them down," Lucy replied sheepishly, not making eye contact.

"Nice excuse."

"DON'T JUDGE ME, CAT!"

Lullaby's three eyes began glowing with a purple light and it released a loud noise as it prepared to attack. Many of the Guild Masters covered their ears, but Makarov just grinned, having complete faith in his wizards.

"Ready?" Erza called.

"Oh yeah!" her teammates responded eagerly. With that, all four of them charged at the demon.

Erza jumped into the air. " **Requip!** " With a bright flash of light, she changed into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. With her twin swords, she slashed at Lullaby's face, making it cry out in pain.

From a distance, Gray entered his stance. " **Ice-Make: Lance!** " he chanted, sending multiple lances of ice at the monster, each one colliding with its body.

A seal materialized under Sparky's feet as he ran, and he was soon replaced with Greninja. Leaping into the air, he quickly formed two shurikens of water. " **Water Shuriken!** " he yelled, sending them spinning toward the demon. The Water-type attack connected with its chest, causing Lullaby to roar in pain again.

"Now it's my turn!" the Dragon Slayer shouted, engulfing his fist in fire. " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " He slugged Lullaby in the face, and it cried out in agony.

The Guild Masters watching the fight were awestruck. "He attacked the demon with fire!"

"I didn't know Ice Magic could do that!"

"That girl can Requip her armor!"

"What kind of creature is that?!"

Lullaby glared down at the four attacking it. " **You are making me mad!** " it screamed, swinging its arm at them, but they jumped into the air, allowing it to hit the rocky ground beneath them. The wizards continued throwing out various spells and attacks at Lullaby, injuring it further.

"Incredible! Their combination attacks are so powerful!" Kage gasped.

"And they're so in sync!" Lucy commented.

"Aye!" Happy added.

However, as the four continued attacking it, the monster grew even more enraged. It opened its mouth and fired a magic beam at the group, which they all leaped to avoid. Lullaby dragged the beam upward, almost hitting Erza, who managed to barely evade it. Unfortunately, with her attention on the blast, she was unaware of the demon's fist coming at her from above.

"Watch out, Erza!" Suddenly, the scarlet-haired warrior felt something coiled around her wrist. Looking down, she saw it was a tongue, but that much was all she could register before she found herself being thrown in a different direction.

She managed to stabilize herself in midair in time to see Greninja get punched into the ground, hard. Erza, as well as her guildmates, watched in horror as Lullaby pulled its fist back to show the Ninja Pokemon crumpled on the ground, unmoving.

"SPARKY!" she screamed.

"Oh no, Sparky!" Natsu cried.

"Crap, he's been hit!" Gray shouted.

While everyone on the sidelines worried about his state, Lullaby laughed uproariously. " **Well, well, looks like that's one down and three to go!** "

Erza bared her teeth as she turned back to the monster angrily. "Damn you!" she growled.

Lullaby just continued to laugh. " **No need to be upset, I'll be sure to reunite you all shortly!** " It kept laughing until something slammed into its head from above with extreme force, making it cry out in pain.

Just like that, everyone went from being horrified to a mixture of shock, confusion, and relief, as the projectile that slammed into Lullaby was the Water/Dark-type.

"Sparky?!" his friends exclaimed.

The pokemon's attention was on the demon. "Your voice is annoying," he stated flatly. In his hands were two purple curved blades, which he proceeded to slash into the back of the monster's head. " **Night Slash!** " he yelled, eliciting another roar of agony from it.

As he landed back on the ground, he was swarmed by his friends. "Sparky?! How the heck did you survive that?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yeah, we all saw you go down!" Gray agreed.

Sparky merely pointed behind him, prompting the others to follow where he was pointing. To their shock, they saw a log lying where they last saw Greninja's body.

"Is that a log?" the ice wizard questioned.

"When did that get there?" Erza wondered.

Natsu, on the other hand, had a look of realization on his face. "Wait a second! This is just like that thing you did the first time we fought together, where you left something in your place to take the hit for you!"

Greninja nodded. "Correct. That was my **Substitute**."

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief from where she was standing. "Thank goodness."

"I totally forgot about that **Substitute** move," Happy admitted.

Erza and Gray were surprised. "So you didn't actually get hit?" the former asked, to which the pokemon shook his head.

Having finally recovered from the unexpected blow to its head, Lullaby looked to see what had caused it and was just as shocked to find that it was the person it was sure had been hit. " **What?! How can you still be standing?! I was sure I finished you off!** " It looked to where it had struck him down and was stunned to see the log. " **Where did that come from?!** "

" _That_ was what you hit all along. Greninja is so fast that enemies don't even realize they've missed their target until they've been struck," Sparky spoke up.

His explanation only seemed to enrage Lullaby further as it let out another roar, this time one of fury. The massive Magic circle above its head expanded before disappearing. "This can't be good!" Lucy cried.

"It's going to play its song!" the flying cat stated.

The demon continued to roar, and as it did, the trees and grass withered away and died.

"The plants are dying!" the Celestial Mage noted.

"Lullaby is sucking the life out of them!" Happy realized.

Lullaby smirked maliciously. " **All I have to do is play one note and your souls will be mine!** " it declared, preparing to do just that. It let out a loud screech that had everyone covering their ears…

…and then it was immediately followed by a muffled whistling sound.

"What just happened?!" Lucy questioned.

"Nothing!" Happy responded, though he was wearing a pair of earplugs that he got from who-knows-where.

Lullaby looked mortified. " **What's going on?! Why can't I play my melody of death?!** "

"It must be because of all of their attacks!" Kage realized.

"They punched so many holes in it that its sound is completely messed up!" the blonde stated, while the monster appeared devastated at this realization. "All of that buildup and that's what we get? Talk about going out with a whimper."

"Yeah, flutes are pretty boring anyway," Happy agreed.

Lullaby became angry once more. " **You dare to mock me?!** " it yelled, kicking a mountain that was dangerously close to the spectators. Sparky's eyes narrowed at the action.

The monster glared over at where the Guild Masters, Lucy, Happy, and Kage were watching. Its eyes glowed and it charged up a magic beam in its mouth. Before it could fire, the Ninja Pokemon reappeared in front of the group of people before changing back to Sparky. As Lullaby fired the blast, the trainer's body became surrounded in aura. An explosion rocked the area, kicking up lots of dust and leaving a large amount of fire in its wake.

However, the people were unharmed, and once the dust cleared, they could see why. Sparky had his arms extended in front of him, and a huge shield of aura stretched across, protecting everyone behind him. Everyone smiled until they noticed that Sparky's arms appeared to be shaking, and some realized he was probably struggling to hold the shield. After a few moments, it dropped, and the blond's arms sagged at his sides as he breathed heavily.

"Sparky! Are you okay?" Lucy inquired.

Once he caught his breath, the Aura Guardian responded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've just never made a barrier that large before," he confessed. "If Lucario were out here, he'd scold me, so I'll probably be hearing from him later."

Natsu, Gray, and Erza were quick to reach his side as the demon stared in disbelief at what it had just witnessed. "Sparky, can you keep going?" the redhead asked worriedly.

Sparky managed to slow his breathing. "Yeah, I think I still have some juice left in me. But first, we need a plan to take this thing down. And I may have something."

"What do you suggest?" Gray questioned.

"First off, we know that Lullaby isn't just big and strong, it's also pretty tough. However, everything has a limit to how much damage it can take before falling over," the trainer explained. "So far, we've been slowly pushing this monster to that limit. For now, we have to keep chipping away at its health with stronger attacks until we finally weaken it enough to take it out with one powerful blow!"

The others seemed surprised at the way he analyzed their opponent and figured out how to take it down. Erza was first to speak up. "I must say I'm impressed, Sparky. I wasn't expecting such a detailed plan."

Sparky smiled, though there was an unnoticeable tint of red in his cheeks. "Yeah, well, I've been training pokemon to battle for five years. I guess you can say I've gotten pretty good at strategy." He became serious again as Lullaby began to shake off its disbelief; now it was quickly turning into rage. "Now let's get back into it. Erza, Gray, we're going back in. Natsu…" He gestured to the fire around them. "Eat up and join us."

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer grinned. "No problem!"

"Then let's go!" Sparky proclaimed as a seal materialized underneath his feet. In the next second, he was replaced by Charizard. The Flame Pokemon's appearance surprised everyone except for Natsu and Happy, who had already seen him before. With a roar, he shot into the air as green energy formed around his arms, shaping into large claws. " **Dragon Claw!** " he shouted, slashing the demon and making it roar in pain.

The scarlet-haired warrior blinked before snapping out of her trance. "We'll have to save our questions for later," she said. "Come on!" With that, she took flight once more. " **Requip!** " Suddenly, Erza was wearing a new armor. It was black with silver trimming, and there were several silver crosses on different spots. The front of her body was mostly exposed, and she had a breastplate that revealed much of her cleavage. Her arms and legs were also covered in armor, and she had two wings that stuck out from her back. Her hair was in a ponytail.

Of course, her new appearance caused a stir in the Guild Masters as they all gawked at her, lovestruck. "Her armor is lovely!" one of them said.

"It's called Black Wing Armor, and it greatly increases her attack power!" another one stated.

Gray entered his stance again. " **Ice-Make: Saucer!** " He created a disc made of ice, resembling a yo-yo without the string and having jagged edges, before launching it at the demon and slicing into its side. As he attacked it, Erza did as well, slashing its face with more force thanks to her armor.

Charizard flew in from the front, blue energy erupting from his body and taking the shape of a dragon. " **Dragon Rush!** " he called, crashing into Lullaby's chest. As the demon staggered back, the pokemon noticed that it was starting to show signs of slowing down. " _Now's the time. We can try it!_ " Sparky thought, with Charizard nodding in agreement in his head.

Still, Lullaby continued to be defiant. " **I will kill you all!** " Then it heard a strange slurping sound, and its attention was drawn to Natsu, who had finished devouring the flames from its magic blast.

Once the pink-haired mage was done, he wiped his mouth with his arm. "Now I've got a fire in my belly!" he proclaimed.

" **You're not human! You're a monster!** " Lullaby screamed as it tried to punch him, but the Fairy Tail wizard was too swift for him as he easily evaded the blow and started running up its arm.

"Like you're one to talk!" Natsu countered as he jumped when he was close enough, and his foot ignited. " **Fire Dragon's Claw!** " His fiery foot hit the monster in the side of its head, eliciting another cry of pain.

Lullaby stepped back, trying to regain its balance. " **No! I will not lose here! I will devour all of your souls!** " Then it felt a strange power coming from the sky, one that, oddly enough, didn't feel like Magic. Looking up, it spotted Charizard in the sky, out of its reach. " **What is that?!** "

The pokemon glared down. "This is your demise!"

" **I won't let you do whatever you're trying to do!** " the demon yelled, charging up a magic beam and firing at the Flame Pokemon. Charizard easily swerved around it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish what he needed to do if he was constantly being attacked.

"Gray! Erza! Distract it!" Sparky instructed. The two in question nodded before attacking the monster again, drawing its attention away from Charizard. " _That's better. Now let's do this!_ " He crossed his arms in front of him, and a fire symbol appeared momentarily.

As he went through a series of poses, Natsu was also preparing to use one final attack. Both of his hands became engulfed in flames. "The flames of my right hand, and the flames of my left… Put the two together…" He slammed his hands together, creating a large fireball that he held over his head. "…and this is what you get!"

Up above, the sky lit up with a bright orange light, courtesy of Charizard. A flaring, orange aura encompassed his body. "Here we go!" he called. The Flame Pokemon opened his mouth as a fireball formed in front of him, growing larger by the second. Pretty soon, it was as big as Charizard.

With their attacks formed, there was only one thing left to do.

" **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!** "

" **Inferno Overdrive!** "

The two fired their respective attacks at the demon, and they crashed into it with the force of a meteor. Lullaby howled in agony as the fire attacks swallowed it whole, creating an enormous explosion and sending a pillar of light into the sky as the monster was destroyed for good.

With that battle finally over, for good this time, Charizard landed on the ground and changed back to Sparky. He grinned widely. "We did it!" he exclaimed before he was hit with a wave of exhaustion. He wobbled on his feet and would have fallen over if Erza, now back in her Heart Kreuz armor, hadn't caught him. He shot her a grateful look. "Thanks."

The redhead smiled back warmly. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. Thanks for pulling me out of the way," she said. The trainer smiled tiredly.

"Well done," Makarov said proudly.

"That was amazing!" Bob stated.

"You kids made defeating Zeref's demon look like a cakewalk," Goldmine remarked, impressed.

Lucy giggled in relief while Kageyama gawked at the wizards in front of him. "I can't believe these guys' strength!" The smoke cleared away from them, giving him a better view of the victorious wizards standing triumphantly. " _Are all Fairy Tail wizards as powerful as these four?_ " he wondered.

"Without a doubt, this is the strongest team in Fairy Tail!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Isn't our guild awesome!" Makarov laughed.

As the Fairy Tail group laughed on, Kage continued to watch from a distance. " _They may be a bunch of idiots… but they're a lot stronger than me,_ " he thought with a smile on his face.

"Well, it looks like we owe Fairy Tail a big thank you for saving us all," Goldmine said.

"We do?" one of the Guild Masters asked as they all caught sight of something amiss.

"Even if that's true, I have to point out…"

Sparky was quick to pick up on what seemed different once he was able to stand on his own, and he blinked in shock. "Um, guys… what happened to the building?"

The rest of the Fairy Tail members turned to look at it, only to see that it was no longer there. The only thing remaining was a gigantic crater that stretched hundreds of feet wide.

"…THEY OVERDID IT!"

"The Conference Hall was completely destroyed!" Lucy screamed.

"Aye! A few mountains also got caught in the battle!" Happy stated.

Makarov looked so devastated that he passed out. His soul flew out of his body, with Erza comically chasing after it. Natsu just laughed heartily.

And so, with an angry mob on their tails, the Fairy Tail members headed back to their guild, the battle won and the good guys victorious.

* * *

 **And finally, we have reached the end! Thus concludes the Lullaby Arc! I apologize for how long it took me to finish this, but I would have had a lot more time to work on my story if I had more time to use the computer, which I don't thanks to my brother and sister.**

 **Another reason this is so late is because when I was about one-third finished writing this chapter, all of my work got deleted right off of my memory card. I was fortunate to have a back-up saved elsewhere, but it took a bit more time to get back on track.**

 **So now the Lullaby Arc is done! You all now know Sparky final two pokemon: Decidueye and Charizard! I know Charizard is a very common and popular pokemon to have, but what can I say? It's still awesome!**

 **As you all have noticed, Sparky can use Z-Moves. Keep in mind that he and his pokemon are sharing one body, so technically he _is_ still there to activate the crystal. Be prepared to see more Z-Moves in the future!**

 **I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed Natsu and Sparky vs. Erigor, as well as Fairy Tail vs. Lullaby! I put a lot of work into those fights!**

 **When I first started writing this chapter, I was about halfway through it before I remembered that the events from the second half of episode 5 all the way to episode 8 were all the same day. I realized that the number of transformations Sparky made in this chapter would leave him tired, so I had to make sure I added that bit.**

 **I'm glad to see that people have voted in my poll! I'll be taking it down when I post Chapter 6 of this story, so anyone who hasn't voted yet will have a lot of time to do so.**

 **And now that this chapter is finished, I can finally move back to RWBBY – The Shapeshifter! I know a lot of you guys are very anxious to see what will happen next, so I'll be working on it more often.**

 **Now for my story recommendations:**

 **EDventures in Kalos by Insane Dominator – This awesome crossover between Pokemon and Ed, Edd, and Eddy is a story where the Eds head to Kalos in order to try and prove they can do something better than the other kids. It's an amazing fanfiction, so go read it!**

 **Diamond in the Rough by Dan Song – A My Hero Academia fanfiction featuring an OC who is trying to stand out from his dad, who's a villain, by attending U.A. to be a hero. Check it out!**

 **The Master and the Dragon by got2luvanime9974 – A really cool and funny fanfiction about two people with mysterious pasts. You should go see it, though I should warn you in advance that this story is rated M.**

 **That's it. Remember to favorite, follow, and review! Sparky D., out!**


	6. Meeting the Council

**Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter for The Fairy Tail Shapeshifter! I'm so happy to see that this story now has over 100 follows and is coming up to 100 favorites! Hopefully, this chapter will be enough to push it over the edge!**

 **Now, there was a lot of mental debate going on in my head because I was originally planning on making this chapter episode 9 of Fairy Tail. However, after a lot of thinking, I decided not to do that. There's something I really wanna hurry up and get to. Instead, I left a short(ish) recap on that episode at the beginning of the chapter.**

 **Also, just a heads up: I'm too lazy to describe each member of the Magic Council, so either watch the episode or look it up if you want to know their appearance.**

 **Alright, time to answer the reviews from last chapter:**

 **NoSignalBlueScreen: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Professor Writer: Glad you liked the fight and Sparky's last two pokemon! Yeah, that was a gag from the actual episode, with my own spin on it!**

 **It's good to see you enjoyed the final fight of the arc! I'm looking forward to adding more Z-Moves to the story!**

 **I hope you like this chapter!**

 **Unknown: Thanks! You won't have to wait too long, that'll be revealed next chapter! And yes, it does mean that.**

 **Thank you very much for your kind words!**

 **SebjectCrimsonStorm: As you have asked, so shall you receive!**

 **Alright, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Meeting the Council

It was a new day in the Fairy Tail guild. Sparky had already completed his meditation routine and was on his way back to the guild hall after eating breakfast. As he treaded, he thought back to the events of the last few days.

After the Fairy Tail group managed to escape the wrath of the Guild Masters, they began their trek back to Magnolia. Happy had claimed that he could lead them back, but after two days of following the cat, the group of seven found themselves even more lost in Clover Canyon.

They had finished off Sparky's rations earlier in the day, and everyone had been starving. The trainer sheepishly explained that though he usually packed food for the next few days, he underestimated how long this journey would last, as well as how many people would be with them, which he couldn't accurately judge since he usually traveled alone.

Eventually, the group came across a village, and at first, they had been excited as a village most likely meant there would be food. However, upon learning that the village was completely devoid of life, they decided to investigate. After some time, they ended up having to fight some monsters that came to life from the inanimate objects in the village. When it looked like the group was done for, Master Makarov did something that somehow reversed everything and saved their lives.

Sparky still had no clue as to what that "something" was, and the Master wouldn't tell him.

Afterward, they left the village, and a few days later, they finally made it back to Magnolia. Though it was a long journey, it gave the Fairy Tail wizards a chance to learn more about the trainer.

First, Sparky had to clear up the confusion that came from everyone, excluding Natsu and Happy, thinking that Charizard was a dragon. Once that was explained, the next most obvious question that was asked was about the powerful fireball attack that he used to defeat Lullaby.

The blond had told them that it was a Z-Move. He explicated that they were moves that combined a Trainer and pokemon's wishes to create an attack that contained the full power of both. Sparky added that as powerful as they were, Z-Moves could only be used once during a battle and required particular items to use them.

Then, before the group found the village, Happy had spotted a school of fish with wings flying around in a canyon. The cat identified them as Wing Fish and stated that they were a legendary delicacy that supposedly tasted excellent, prompting the mages to try fishing for some.

At first, no one had been able to catch anything. It wasn't until 20 minutes later that Natsu's line got a bite, and when he reeled it in, everyone saw how small the fish was. They all let Happy have it and gave up on trying to catch a fish, but the wizards were surprised to see Sparky continue fishing.

Erza had asked him why he was still trying to catch something, and the trainer revealed that he had done a lot of fishing on his world, so he was actually quite skilled. He told them that thanks to his experience, he knew that the most important quality to have when fishing was patience.

In the end, Sparky's patience paid off as he managed to catch six more Wing Fish, one for each of them, even if it took a little more than half an hour to do so. Everyone couldn't help but be impressed, especially Happy. Natsu cooked the fishes with his Magic, and everyone was able to get some food in their bellies.

It was just unfortunate that, contrary to what Happy told them, Wing Fish actually tasted terrible.

Afterward, when the group first saw the monsters, Makarov had come up with the _bright_ idea (note the sarcasm) of turning them into food. While the idea would normally be revolting, the mages were desperate to get something to eat at this point, so they went to work taking down the beasts.

Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Sparky prepared the monsters they fought in different ways. Natsu left his to steam, Gray froze his completely solid, Erza sliced hers to pieces while wearing a cook outfit, and Sparky fried his using Pikachu's electricity.

Once they were all finished, they took a bite out of the monsters, with Lucy sharing with Erza. The five mages were able to unanimously agree that they tasted… absolutely disgusting.

Natsu and Gray yelled at the old man for his awful suggestion, while the Celestial Mage yelled at Erza for making her eat it when she knew beforehand that it tasted horrible. However, the wizards came across a sight that left them stunned.

Sparky was still ingesting his monster.

Lucy had questioned why he was still eating when they tasted gross, to which the blond had sheepishly replied by saying that this was actually something else he was used to. Sparky explained further that when he first started traveling, he was terrible at cooking. He'd had to go the first couple of nights eating very little food, which was partially why he used to have a small appetite.

However, Sparky was eventually forced to suck it up and eat his bad cooking one day when he couldn't find any food. It was like this a few more times, and over time, the trainer had built up a tolerance to food that tasted bad. While it didn't make the food taste any better, he could force it down his throat if he really needed to eat, such as now.

Of course, Sparky had been utterly disgusted to learn later on that there had been _people_ inside of the monsters.

Thankfully, that was all behind him now. Sparky was just prepared to enjoy another day at the Guild. When he got there, however, he noticed the large crowd of his guildmates standing outside in a circle and cheering.

The blond raised a brow at the sight. Curious, he maneuvered his way to the front of the crowd, where he met up with Lucy and Gray. "Hey guys, is something happening?" Sparky inquired.

"Don't tell me you forgot, too," the Ice Mage sighed. "Natsu challenged Erza to a fight, remember? Now they're going through with it."

Sparky looked into the center of the circle and spotted the two people in question staring each other down. His face lit up as it all came back to him. "Oh yeah, I remember now!"

"I can't believe they're actually going to do it!" Lucy exclaimed disbelievingly.

"Those two better fight if they value their manhood!" Elfman stated.

Sparky shot him a deadpanned look. "Do you realize how weird that sounded?" he asked.

"Erza's not a man, Elfman," Mira corrected.

"But you have to admit she's pretty manly," Macao pointed out.

As Erza and Natsu continued to gaze at each other, Lucy said, "But what if this ends up breaking our strongest team up?"

"What do you mean by 'our strongest team'?" Gray questioned.

"You, Natsu, and Erza, ya moron! You three are the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail!"

"For now. Pretty soon, I'll be leaving you guys in the dust," the blond joked.

Gray ignored his comment. "We are?" Then he scoffed. "Yeah, right. Who's the idiot that told you that nonsense?"

Mirajane smiled at him innocently… before she promptly burst into tears.

"Oh, you're not an idiot, Mira!" the dark blue-haired teen said nervously, trying to calm her down.

"Real smooth, Gray," the Celestial Mage said sarcastically.

"I'll admit that Natsu and Gray are pretty strong, but neither of them come close to being the strongest," Elfman said. "There are guys in Fairy Tail who are stronger than the two of them put together." He gestured to himself. "Like yours truly!"

Sparky's deadpan expression returned. "Didn't Natsu and Gray together punch you across the guild hall the day I became a member?" he reminded the white-haired man, making him deflate a little.

"But it _is_ safe to say that Erza is the strongest woman in Fairy Tail," Levy spoke up.

"When it comes to the guys, it's harder to decide," Jet mused. "If I had to choose, I'd say it's either Laxus or Mystogan."

"I don't know," Droy put in. "I think it would be _him._ "

Sparky blinked in confusion and was about to ask who all those people were, but then Elfman spoke up again. "I gotta say, I'm pretty excited to see how this fight will play out."

"Heh, I'm pretty sure Erza's gonna wipe the floor with him," Gray remarked with a smirk.

The two fighters were finally getting ready to begin. "It's been a while since we've squared off like this, hasn't it, Natsu?" Erza said.

"I was a little kid back then," the Dragon Slayer replied. "Today's gonna be different because I'm gonna take you down!"

"Well, I won't go easy on you." The armored wizard smirked. "In fact, I have the perfect armor for this occasion. **Requip!** " Erza's clothes glowed as she donned a new armor. When the light faded, Erza was seen wearing an armor that was mostly dark red, with parts of it also orange and black. She wore gauntlets over her arms and greaves shaped like the claws of a dragon. Her breastplate showed off a bit of cleavage and had wings attached to the back. Erza's hair was tied in pigtails.

"Whoa… this is a new armor for me," Sparky said as he gazed at her in amazement.

Fortunately, his guildmates recognized it. "That's her Flame Empress Armor! It's an excellent option to use against Fire Magic," Macao stated.

"Now Natsu's fire will only do half as much damage!" Laki added.

" _So Erza's current armor reduces the effectiveness of fire attacks… and if I had to guess, she can attack with fire, too,_ " Sparky thought. " _Hm, this is kinda like watching two Fire-types battle each other. It'll be difficult to decide who will win this._ "

Natsu smirked when he saw the armor Erza chose. "Wow, Flame Empress Armor, huh? That's great for me, 'cause it means I can turn up the heat as high as I want!" He ignited his fists while Erza stood ready to begin fighting.

Finally, Makarov started the match. "Round one, start!"

Natsu made the first move as he charged at the scarlet-haired warrior with his fists still engulfed in fire. He tried to punch her, but with incredible speed, Erza dodged the attack.

She followed up by swinging her flaming sword at her opponent, but Natsu ducked under it. He twisted his body as he attempted to hit Erza with his Fire Dragon's Claw, only for the redhead to block it with her sword. Erza tried to slash him again, but Natsu managed to avoid it by flipping backward.

Undeterred, Erza rushed toward the pink-haired mage, who retaliated by launching his Fire Dragon's Roar. The scarlet-haired wizard easily evaded it, prompting Natsu to drag his head around to try and hit her with his breath attack. Erza continued to dodge it, though the attack got uncomfortably close to the spectators.

As the two continued to fight, Lucy watched in awe. "Whoa…"

"See? We told you it'd be a good fight!" Elfman said.

Gray seemed to think otherwise. "This fight's pretty boring," he commented.

"Are you kidding, Gray? This is awesome!" Sparky exclaimed.

Erza readied her sword once more while Natsu ignited his fists. The two charged at each other, ready to clash again.

However, before they could, a loud clapping sound made both parties freeze in place. Surprised, everyone turned to see who was responsible for stopping the fight.

The culprit was revealed to be an anthropomorphic frog wearing odd clothing. "This fight is over!" she announced, walking into the center of the circle. "If I may have your attention, I'm here on behalf of the Magic Council."

"No way!" Levy gasped.

"For real?!" Jet said.

"Why would the Council send her here?" Droy wondered.

Lucy gazed at them with disbelief. "Am I the only one who noticed that she's a frog?!"

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Sparky inquired. "The Magic Council has animals working for them? Also, do all animals speak English on this world?" The blond held his head. "I have so many questions."

The frog lady continued speaking. "As a result of the Eisenwald incident, two members of this guild have been charged with 11 counts of criminal property damage!" She pointed to the armored wizard. "Erza Scarlet, you are one of the mages!"

"No way, they want Erza?!" Lucy gasped.

"But she didn't do anything wrong!" Gray protested.

"I guess the Council's not happy that she did their job for them," the trainer said with a sigh as he folded his arms. "I feel sorry for the poor guy who also got in trouble."

"Erza Scarlet, you and the blond Take Over Mage are under arrest!" the frog finished.

"Uh, Sparky? I think she's talking about you," the dark blue-haired teen said.

The person in question blinked when he heard that before a panicked expression crossed his face. "Wait, what?! Aw man, what did I do this time?!"

"It's probably something to do with Eisenwald like she said – wait, did you just say 'this time?!'" the Celestial Mage questioned.

"Why the heck are they being arrested?!" Natsu demanded. "It's not like they did anything—"

"Natsu." The Dragon Slayer found himself being cut off. He faced the one who interrupted him and was astonished to see it was Sparky, who had now calmed down, although there was a frown on his face. The blond went on. "There's no point arguing. If we're under arrest, then so be it."

"How can you say that, Sparky?!" Natsu asked. "It's completely unfair!"

Sparky shrugged. "Trust me, I'm much less pleased than you, but it's a lot less trouble if you go along with it than if you resist." He sighed and faced the frog lady. "So let's go get this over with."

Erza was a bit surprised at his decision but nodded in agreement. With that settled, anti-Magic handcuffs were placed on both Erza and Sparky.

" _So they have special cuffs to prevent mages from using Magic,_ " the trainer noted. " _I guess that means I won't be able to call on my pokemon for help. However…_ " After glancing at the frog to confirm she wasn't looking, he stared at his hand and watched with relief as aura gathered in his palm. " _…it looks like I'm not totally powerless._ " Dismissing his aura, he followed after the Magic Council worker with Erza.

* * *

A few hours later, the two arrested mages had reached their destination: a building which held the Fiore branch of the Magic Council. Another frog employee had met them at the entrance to help escort the two to the trial room.

As the four walked down the hall, Erza abruptly stopped walking when she spotted someone in their path. It was a blue-haired man wearing white clothing with a peculiar red tattoo on the right side of his face. He smirked when he saw the redhead. "Siegrain!" Erza gasped.

"Huh?" Sparky said before he followed her gaze. His eyes widened slightly when he saw who Erza was looking at. " _Why didn't I sense that guy earlier? Come to think of it, I still don't sense him… Is he some kind of ghost, or is this some sort of hologram?_ "

The two frogs bowed as Siegrain walked over to them. "It's been quite a while, Erza," he said. The armored wizard tensed in response. "Please relax. I'm not physically here; this is merely a Thought Projection I'm sending from Era." As he spoke, a few flickering sounds could be heard, confirming Sparky's suspicions. He gestured to the doors ahead of them. "In fact, all the wrinkled faces in there are projections, too. We didn't think it was necessary to be here for something so trivial."

"I see. So you're the one behind all this. You make me sick!" Erza growled, getting a worried look from the blond due to the amount of hatred she was directing at the blue-haired man.

" _Just what did this guy do to make Erza so mad? I've never seen her this angry,_ " Sparky thought.

Siegrain smirked at her words before he turned his attention to Sparky. "As for you, you must be Fairy Tail's newest member, the Take Over Mage."

The trainer snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed the Council member was speaking to him. "What? Oh, yeah," he replied uneasily. Even though Sparky couldn't sense his aura, there was something about Siegrain that made him feel on edge. The fact that Erza seemed to detest him only made the feeling stronger.

"I must say, the Council is really looking forward to meeting the new mystery member of the Fairy Tail guild, who can apparently turn into a dragon," Siegrain said.

Sparky sighed at that before he stared at Siegrain skeptically. "So I was arrested because the Council wants to get to know me? You could've called and invited me down here."

"Oh, we have our reasons." The blue-haired man turned to one of the frog workers. "Would you please escort him to the courtroom? I wish to have a little chat with Erza."

"Y-Yes, sir!" the frog stammered before leading Sparky further down the hall. As they walked, the trainer glanced back at Erza with another worried look. The redhead was clearly unhappy, being left alone with Siegrain, but there was nothing either of them could do about it. With a sigh, Sparky faced forward and disappeared behind the doors.

* * *

A few minutes later, everyone was in the courtroom: the complete Magic Council, the two Fairy Tail mages, and a few frog employees. As things were being set up, Sparky gazed at Erza, observing that she still looked very upset. He wasn't sure what Siegrain had said to her, but it obviously wasn't anything good.

Sparky hadn't known the redhead for long, but he didn't like seeing her like this, so he decided to try and cheer her up. Stretching his arms forward, the blond placed his hand on Erza's shoulder, albeit a bit awkwardly since he was wearing handcuffs. Still, it accomplished what he had been going for: getting Erza's attention, as the scarlet-haired wizard turned to face him.

"Are you okay, Erza?" Sparky inquired.

Erza stared at the trainer, a bit surprised as she took in the concern in his eyes. She could see that he really cared about her well-being, and she couldn't help but smile as she answered. "Thank you for your concern, Sparky. At the moment, I'm not really okay, but don't worry, I'll be fine once we've left this place."

Sparky smiled back as he felt her mood lift. "Okay then. It just doesn't feel right, seeing you without a smile on your face," he said, making Erza's face flush slightly. Before she could respond, the sound of a gavel banging on wood could be heard, indicating that the trial was about to commence. Both mages faced forward, the blond retracting his hand from Erza's shoulder.

"This courtroom will now come to order!" a frog announced. "Before us are the defendants, Erza Scarlet and the blond Take Over Mage. You two, please take the stand."

The two aforementioned people did so, and then the Chairman began to speak. "Now for our first order of business. You two stand before the Council to answer for the charges resulting from the incident with the Dark Guild Eisenwald. These charges include extensive damage to Oshibana Station, the collapse of the railroad between Oshibana and Clover, and the total destruction of the conference hall in Clover Town. There are 11 property damage charges against you. According to eyewitness reports, the ones responsible were described to be a heavily armored redheaded woman and a blond teenager with—"

"OBJECTION!"

The Magic Council grew startled at the sudden interruption. "What is the meaning of this?!" the Chairman demanded, looking to the source of the yell, which happened to be Sparky.

Even Erza was caught off guard. "Sparky, what are you doing?!" she whispered.

The trainer blinked, a little perplexed. "I'm objecting. That's what you do when someone says something you don't agree with," he replied.

"Why are you interrupting the Chairman?!" Org demanded as he glared at Sparky.

The teen in question returned the glare. "If you're gonna go around arresting people, you guys should at least get your facts straight first," Sparky stated. "Erza wasn't responsible for destroying any of the stuff you just mentioned, so there was no reason for her to be arrested!"

Erza was left astounded at how Sparky was standing up for her, but Michello was less than pleased. "Weren't you listening, boy?! Witnesses reported that—"

"That's a load of crap!" Sparky snapped, once again stunning the Council into silence. "There was absolutely no one around when we fought Eisenwald at the train station or when Natsu and I fought Erigor on the railroad! So unless your 'witnesses' were from Eisenwald, that obviously can't be true."

The short man growled as he listened to the trainer speak. "Now you better watch your tone, you little—"

"And the only people who saw us fighting Lullaby were the Guild Masters," Sparky went on. "All of them clearly saw that the giant fireballs Natsu and I used were what destroyed the conference hall. Erza had nothing to do with it!"

"SILENCE!" Org roared. "Now you listen here, boy, you better learn to not argue with the Council!"

Sparky had a deadpanned expression on his face. "Don't get these things wrong and I won't argue with you," he retorted.

The bearded man was nearing the end of his rope, but before he could respond, Yajima spoke up. "Now let's all calm down. I suppose the young man has a point," he relented, attempting to defuse the tension in the air. "Perhaps we should push on to the second order of business now."

The Chairman sighed. "Very well. Let's move on to our next order of business." His eyes narrowed as he pointed at the blond Fairy Tail member. "You."

"Yeah, I'm aware," Sparky said. "So, what do you wanna know?"

This time, Belno spoke up. "Let's start with your name, young man."

The trainer nodded. "Okay. My name is Sparky Jones."

"Good, good," Ultear said. "Now, Sparky… please explain how you got your Magic and where you came from. We've never seen Take Over Magic like yours, and the first time we have records of you is your sudden appearance in Hargeon; before that is a complete mystery."

"Yeah, figured that was coming next," Sparky murmured. The blond had no intention of telling them where he was actually from. It had been hard to believe for Fairy Tail the first time he told them; he really didn't want to go through that again with these people. Not to mention, Sparky didn't know what they would do if he told them the truth. Therefore, he decided he would make something up for them.

Sparky raised his voice as he addressed the Council. "The reason for that is because my family and I like to move around a lot. My parents would take care of my older brother and me, and we never really stayed in a town for more than a few days." Sparky's face became a bit downcast. "But when I was 10, my parents passed away, leaving the two of us on our own. My brother took care of me for the next three years… until we ran into a wild beast. He tried to defeat it with his Magic, but it was just too strong. So instead, he held it off and told me to run… I never saw him again after that."

Erza couldn't help but feel sad for the trainer before she remembered that he was making this all up. However, as she gazed at Sparky, she noticed that the depression on his face seemed a bit too… real.

Sparky continued his story. "After that, I traveled by myself for about a year. Then one day, I boarded a ship that was heading to Bosco. Unfortunately, the ship never made it to its destination because it got caught up in a thunderstorm. Amidst all the madness, I was rendered unconscious; when I came to, I found that I had ended up on an island. That's where I met my… Take Overs. I had learned that one of them actually saved my life by pulling me out of the ocean."

"Am I correct in guessing that it was the frog creature that you used to fight Lullaby?" Siegrain asked.

The blond nodded. "Yes, that's correct. Before long, I befriended them, and eventually, I discovered my Magic. I trained on the island for the next four years before I finally departed using one of my Take Overs. I ended up somewhere near Hargeon, where I met Natsu. He invited me to join Fairy Tail, I accepted, and, well… here we are now," he finished. Taking a glance at the Magic Council, Sparky noted that they all looked satisfied with his explanation and internally sighed with relief.

"Very well then," the Chairman said. "If we've gotten that out of the way, then let's move on to—"

"Wait, hold on," Sparky interjected abruptly again, much to the Council's irritation. "Just one more thing I wanted to ask. Are you planning on thanking us at all for our help?"

"Thank you?!" Michello yelled angrily.

"Oh, you're welcome!" Sparky chirped as he closed his eyes with a bright smile on his face. However, his eyes opened and his smile dropped when he sensed something amiss.

The cat-looking man didn't appear to notice this as he started shouting at the trainer. "You insolent brat! Do you not realize all the damage you caused?! Now you expect us to…"

However, Sparky was no longer listening to the Council member. He leaned closer to Erza. "Hey Erza, we're the only Fairy Tail wizards who are supposed to be here, right?" he whispered.

The redhead blinked, mystified by his sudden question. "Er, yes, that would be right, Sparky," she responded.

Sparky stood up straight once more. "We may have a problem, then."

Erza blinked again and was about to ask what it was, but she got her answer a second later when the wall behind them exploded, also cutting off Michello's rant.

"Now what is going on?!" the Chairman bellowed.

Everyone faced the dust cloud to see what caused it, though Sparky already knew who it was and Erza was starting to get a bad feeling due to what the blond said earlier. After a few seconds, a figure jumped out of the cloud, confirming Erza's fears while leaving the Magic Council stunned.

Of course, it was Natsu.

And that wasn't the worst part. The Dragon Slayer had on several barrels that covered various parts of his body, as well as other pieces of metal. To top it off, he wore a red-haired wig that only covered part of his pink hair. In short, Natsu was dressed up as a lousy imitation of Erza.

"I'M THE CRAZY LADY IN ARMOR YOU GEEZERS HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR! IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY MY GUILD AND I DO THINGS, THEN YOU CAN FIGHT ME!" Natsu screamed.

The Council watched in deep shock as Natsu ran around, breathing fire and destroying stuff. "I AM THE ALL-POWERFUL ERZA! IF YOU THOUGHT I WAS DESTRUCTIVE BEFORE, THEN JUST CHECK ME OUT NOW!"

Erza had a horrified look on her face while Sparky deadpanned, both hands coming up to his head due to the handcuffs as he attempted to facepalm.

Eventually, the Dragon Slayer calmed down and pointed to the Council. "Do you really believe that the stuff I destroyed is more important than the lives of the Guild Masters?! Huh?!"

The room went silent, with Natsu smiling triumphantly while Erza looked mortified and the trainer appeared indifferent. Finally, the Chairman sighed and banged his gavel. "Please just take them all away."

"I'm very sorry for this, your Honor," the armored wizard said as she bowed stiffly.

Natsu whirled around to face her. "What are you doing, Erza?! Don't apologize to these jerks!" he yelled, then realized his mistake. "Whoops! I mean—I'm Erza!"

Sparky smacked the back of his head. "Just shut up, Natsu. You're not fooling anyone."

* * *

A few minutes later, the Fairy Tail mages were taken to a jail cell. The guards removed the anti-Magic handcuffs on Sparky and Erza's wrists before all three of them were deposited into the cell.

Erza was fuming as she glowered at Natsu for his stunt. "I can't tell you just how furious I am! That whole trial was just a formality!"

"Say what?!" the pink-haired teen gasped.

"It's a glorified spectacle! The Council was using us as examples to remind everyone that if you break the law, you'll be punished. It helps them maintain order in the magical world," Erza elucidated.

Sparky rolled his eyes. "More like they were looking for someone to dump the blame on because they didn't want to take it themselves."

"So you mean to tell me this whole thing was just for show?!" Natsu questioned.

"They probably would have found us guilty and sent us back with a slap on the wrist. BUT THANKS TO YOU, WE'RE STUCK IN A JAIL CELL!" the scarlet-haired wizard yelled, scaring Natsu.

"Honestly Natsu, what were you thinking, coming here dressed up like Erza? Why would you think anyone would buy that?" the trainer asked. "You were even breathing fire, and I'm pretty sure Erza doesn't talk like that."

The Dragon Slayer rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I guess I didn't really think that through."

Sparky folded his arms. "Clearly. Otherwise, you would have realized that it would have been a lot less trouble to show up dressed as me! I mean, it couldn't be that hard to find a blond wig if you found a red one, right?"

Erza nearly facefaulted at his statement. "That's what you're concerned about?!" she almost shouted before her voice lowered. "And what were you thinking, getting the Council riled up like that?"

Sparky just shrugged. "Well, Tony always said I have a special talent for annoying people who don't like me." His face soured a bit. "And vice versa."

"Still, you need to be careful. You wouldn't want to get on the Council's bad side," the redhead said.

"We won't have a problem if those jerks do their job right!" the blond countered. "If they really wanted to arrest the ones responsible for destroying all those things, then they only should have come after me and Natsu! Granted, after what happened today, I can see why they wouldn't want Natsu—"

"Hey!"

"—but that still left me. Not to mention, they wanted me anyway. Like I said earlier, they had absolutely no reason to arrest you as well," Sparky finished.

Erza was astonished to see Sparky so upset, not because they were arrested but because _she_ was. The redhead couldn't help but be touched, and she smiled at Sparky. "Thank you, Sparky. I appreciate you standing up for me." Then she turned to the pink-haired teen. "And I know you meant well with your actions, Natsu." Erza pulled them both in for a hug, which of course meant slamming their heads into her breastplate.

As this was going on, none of them were aware that someone was standing a few feet away from their cell. The person was revealed to be Siegrain, who was smirking. "So, a Fairy Tail mage came to help them." He turned around and began walking away. "I look forward to seeing more of what you two are capable of, Natsu Dragneel and Sparky Jones." Then his Thought Projection disappeared into the air.

* * *

Later on, in the jail cell, it was currently nighttime. Natsu was fast asleep on the floor, snoring loudly. Sparky decided to pass the time by meditating, his eyes closed as he concentrated on that.

Erza, on the other hand, was thinking about the events that had happened during the day. Specifically, she was thinking about the fake story that Sparky gave to the Magic Council.

" _I understand why he had to hide his true identity from the Council, and his story was very persuasive. They likely won't question him about that anymore. But…_ " She remembered the flash of sadness that crossed the blond's face when he delivered certain parts of his fake story. " _I wonder…_ "

After a few seconds of deliberation, Erza finally came to a decision. "Hey, Sparky?" she called.

Hearing her voice, the aforementioned teen opened his eyes and looked at the armored wizard with a curious expression on his face. "Yeah, Erza?" he responded.

"I was just wondering… how were you able to come up with such a convincing story to give to the Council?" she asked.

The reaction she got was not one she was expecting. Rather than answer, Sparky's eyes widened slightly before he averted his gaze to the floor and remained silent, much to her surprise and confusion. "Sparky?"

After several seconds passed, the trainer still hadn't said anything, and Erza was about to drop the subject, but she started slightly when he began to speak. "You know… during my journey, someone told me that one way to tell a convincing lie… is to throw in some half-truths. So that's exactly what I did."

Erza was stunned to hear this. "So you mean…"

"Yep. A lot of what I told them was false… but there were some things that I didn't make up," Sparky said.

The scarlet-haired wizard hesitated, contemplating what she was about to ask next before she decided to go through with it. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Once again, Sparky was silent as he thought about it. Eventually, he looked up at Erza with a small smile on his face. "Sure, Erza. I'll tell you about it."

* * *

 **And done! Phew! I really wanted to get this chapter finished before the end of this year, and it looks like I managed to succeed, if only barely!**

 **So, the Magic Council has met Sparky and vice versa. Surprise, surprise, they don't like each other. I also put in a few more SparkyxErza moments!**

 **This chapter also reveals a bit more about Sparky; next chapter, we'll be learning a little bit about his past!**

 **I hope this chapter was enjoyable for you! The ending was a bit abrupt in my opinion, but I couldn't really think of a better way to end the chapter.**

 **One more thing. I plan on closing the poll after I post the next chapter, so if you haven't voted yet then get to it while you still have a chance!**

 **Now, with nothing more to say, here are my story recommendations:**

 **All of the following stories are by the same author, JTZ29.**

 **Killing Your Dark Future – An Akame ga Kill fanfiction where Tatsumi has visions of the future where he sees a lot of people die. He joins Night Raid, determined to take down the Empire and change his dark future! This story is my favorite Akame ga Kill fanfiction on the site; you guys should definitely read it!**

 **Natsu Dragneel the Dual Dragon Slayer – As the name suggests, in this story Natsu was raised by two dragon kings and can wield two elements from the beginning of the series: fire and lightning. Check out the adventures of a stronger Natsu!**

 **Betrayal Brings Out the Best in Us – A pokemon fanfiction where, as I'm sure you can guess from the title, Ash gets betrayed by his friends, which spurs him to become a better trainer. Check this story out!**

 **Well, that's that. Remember to keep on favoriting, following, and reviewing this story and I will see you all next year with Chapter 7! Sparky D., out!**


	7. Tales From The Past! Natsu vs Sparky!

**Hey-o! What's up, everybody! I deeply apologize for how many months it took to get this chapter out. But now I'm back, delivering another awesome chapter for The Fairy Tail Shapeshifter! It's great to see that you all enjoyed last chapter!**

 **Now let's just answer the reviews from last chapter:**

 **bulk Locke the the grim head: Thank you! To be honest, I never really thought too much about other pairings. As you can see, there won't be any Jerza in this fanfiction since I'm pairing Erza with Sparky. Aside from that, there will be one other pairing that will appear much later in the story, but I won't reveal that.**

 **Perseus12: Yep and yep! Now we can move on to the exciting part!**

 **darkvampirekisses: Thank you! I'm glad you found it, too! :D**

 **GracefulArt: Thanks! Now, wait no further!**

 **WowohWow0: I'm guessing you're asking if I can give Sparky more than six pokemon. It's not a bad idea. I won't say no, but I'll have to think it over, so I won't say yes either. Thanks for the idea either way!**

 **Foalan21: Glad it made you laugh, though I should point out that wasn't something I made up; that was an actual line from the first episode. Here is the more you requested!**

 **Without further ado, here is Chapter 7!**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Tales From The Past! Natsu vs. Sparky!

 _In the peaceful town of Vaniville in the Kalos region, there were a few simple houses scattered about. There weren't as many people living in this town compared to the other towns and cities in Kalos, so it was a pretty quiet place. In one particular house, however, the quiet was about to be shattered._

" _Daddy! Mommy!"_

 _The shout came from a little boy running through the halls of his two-story home. The boy looked to be about 7 years old, and he had on a blue T-shirt with an orange lightning bolt on it and yellow shorts. His blond hair blew in the air as he ran, and his blue eyes glittered with energy._

" _Daddy! Mommy!" the little boy called again._

" _No need to yell, Collin, we're in here," a voice grumbled._

 _The boy, now known as Collin, ran into the dining area, where he finally found his parents sitting at the square table that they used to eat. His dad had brown hair and blue eyes, though the latter held a hint of annoyance. He wore a beige button-up shirt and brown pants._

 _His mom also had blue eyes like his dad, albeit a slightly darker shade, but she had long blonde hair that reached her upper back. Unlike his casual appearance, she had on a suit: a white button-up shirt with a black jacket over it. She also wore a black skirt that went down to her knees and black high heels._

 _The woman looked to her son with a sweet smile on her face. "What is it, honey?" she inquired._

 _Collin was practically bouncing in place as he asked, "Do you know where Big Brother went? I don't think he's here anymore."_

 _His mom giggled. "No, he's not here anymore. I believe he said something about heading over to Serena's house to hang out with everyone."_

 _The little boy gasped. "He left without me?! I gotta go, then! Bye!" And with that, Collin ran out of the room._

 _Once he was gone, his dad sighed. "That boy… I_ still _don't understand how he can have so much energy," he remarked._

 _Collin's mom giggled again. "I think it's adorable, Jeff!" she said. "Besides, that kind of energy will be good for him when he finally becomes a Trainer."_

" _Yeah, it will, Audrey. Now if only that day could come sooner," Jeff sighed once more in exasperation._

 _Meanwhile, Collin ran up the stairs and into his room. Quickly scanning the room, he spotted what he was looking for. "Come on, little buddy! We're going over to Serena's house to play with Big Brother and our friends!" he exclaimed._

 _The thing that he was addressing was under his blanket. Reacting to Collin's words, it suddenly popped out from underneath and landed on the ground, revealing itself to be a pokemon._

 _It was incredibly small, not even a foot tall, and resembled a mouse. It was mostly orange in color, with cheeks that were a darker shade of orange, and a black tail, ears, and whiskers that were, oddly enough, shaped like antennas. Its belly and the inside of its ears were pale yellow, and a small tooth could be seen poking out of the upper part of its mouth._

" _Dedenne!" the pokemon cried happily._

" _Yeah! Let's go, Dedenne!" Collin said, running out of his room, down the stairs, and out the front door with the Antenna Pokemon on his heels._

 _Serena's house wasn't far from his own; in fact, it was practically next door. It was only a couple minutes later that the young boy and his pokemon made it to their destination, and the former was quick to knock on the front door. A minute later, the door opened to reveal a woman with short brown hair and blue eyes. "Oh Collin, I was wondering when you'd get here!" she said. "If you're looking for Xavier, then he's out back with my daughter and Shauna."_

" _Thanks, Mrs. Yvonne!" Collin responded before he raced out the backdoor. A few seconds later, he found who he was looking for. "Big Brother!"_

 _Just as Serena's mom had told him, there were currently three people in the yard; all of them turned to face Collin when they heard him shout. In addition, there was a pokemon at their feet._

 _The first person was a boy about a year older than Collin. As opposed to the shorter boy's wilder hairstyle, the taller boy's hair was less spiky and stood up a bit straighter, and was brown instead of blond. The two had the same blue eyes, though the older boy's eyes were slightly lighter in color. He was wearing a red T-shirt with black shorts._

 _The second person was a girl around the same age as the boy. She had honey blonde hair that reached her shoulders and blue eyes. She wore a red dress that went down to her knees and a red hat on her head._

 _The third person was also a girl, just as old as the previous two kids. She had brown hair, interestingly styled into four curls that circled around her head, and green eyes, and she had on a pink shirt with black bows and blue jean shorts._

 _As for the pokemon, it resembled a lion cub. It had primarily dark brown fur, with its face, paws, ears, and the tip of its tail being lighter brown in color. Its nose was reddish orange, as was the tuft of fur between its ears._

 _Upon spotting Collin, the brown-haired girl's face lit up. "Oh, oh! Collin's here!" she exclaimed._

 _The boy smirked lightly. "It's about time," he remarked._

 _The blonde girl was the first to approach him. "Good morning, Collin. I trust that you're doing well?" she said._

 _Collin smiled back. "Yeah, I'm good, Serena." He turned to the brown-haired girl and waved. "Hi, Shauna!" he called, getting an enthusiastic greeting from her in return. Looking down, he saw the pokemon that had been at their feet was now at his feet, rubbing its head on his leg affectionately. With a laugh, the little boy bent down to pat it on the head. "And hello to you, too, Litleo."_

" _Litleo!" the pokemon cried out._

" _De ne ne!" Dedenne said, and the two pokemon ran off to play together._

 _The blond smiled as he watched the two. Then he turned to face the other boy, and his smile was replaced with a pout. "Xavier, why'd you leave home without me?"_

 _The older boy, now known as Xavier, let out a small chuckle. "Sorry little bro, but you were just taking too long. Seriously, for all of your energy, you can be pretty slow when it comes to cleaning your room," he answered. Collin's cheeks puffed out slightly at his remark, but he had no retort._

 _Their two friends giggled before Shauna spoke up. "So what are we going to do today?" she asked._

 _At that, Collin's pout disappeared and his smile returned. "Ooh, ooh! Can we do that mock pokemon battling thing again?"_

 _Xavier chuckled. "Sure Collin, let's do that."_

" _Yay!"_

* * *

Still nighttime in the jail cell, Erza stared at the trainer with astonishment. "So you really did have a brother…" she said.

Sparky nodded. "That I did."

Erza was silent for a few seconds as she took in what she was told, which left her with a few more questions. "What about those two pokemon you mentioned?"

"You mean Dedenne and Litleo," Sparky answered. He thought about something for a second before he continued speaking. "If you'd like, I can show you what they look like for yourself."

"Really? How?" the redhead inquired.

In response, the blond teen reached into his back pocket and pulled out a red and black device that slightly resembled a tablet. There was a thin, blue gap in the middle that was rounder at the center and outlined in black. Erza gazed at the device in awe. "What's that?"

"This is my Pokedex. It records data on pokemon that I've seen or caught," Sparky explained. He activated the Pokedex and it opened up, the gap getting wider to reveal a screen, much to Erza's surprise. Fiddling with the device for a moment, he turned the screen to the armored wizard as an image of Litleo appeared.

" **Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokemon,** " the automated voice said as Erza listened with astonishment. " **The stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body.** "

"Amazing," Erza muttered. "This Litleo pokemon sounds an awful lot like Natsu."

The trainer laughed at her statement. "Yeah, they are pretty similar now that you mention it." He pressed a few buttons and the image of Litleo was replaced with one of Dedenne.

" **Dedenne, the Antenna Pokemon. Its whiskers serve as antennas. By sending and receiving electrical waves, it can communicate with others over vast distances,** " the Pokedex said.

"That sounds impressive," Erza commented as she faced Sparky, who was putting away his Pokedex. "So are these your last two pokemon?"

Sparky looked confused for a moment before he remembered that Erza had only seen four of his pokemon. "Oh, no, no. Litleo went with my brother when he started his journey. As for Dedenne…" He seemed to hesitate for a second before he went on. "…Dedenne's back home."

The scarlet-haired wizard observed him, noticing how downtrodden he suddenly seemed to get. "You really miss him, don't you?"

The trainer nodded sadly. "According to my brother, Dedenne was hatched from an egg not long before I was born. He's always been around me, and the two of us got really close. We did practically everything together. When I finally started my journey, Dedenne was actually the first pokemon to join my team," he revealed.

Erza was astounded once again. "If you were so close to him, why isn't he with you?" she questioned.

Sparky grimaced. "Well, one of the things we did together was get into life-threatening situations. After nearly dying during the last one, I decided I didn't want Dedenne to get caught up in another one, so I left him with Professor Sycamore, the man who gave me my Pokedex." He sighed. "What a mistake that turned out to be, considering how far apart we are now. Now I may never see him again."

"You shouldn't think like that." The blond started when he felt Erza's hand on his shoulder. Looking at her, he saw that the redhead had a soft smile on her face. "I think you should always hold on to the hope that you _will_ see each other again. I don't know Dedenne, but if you two really are as close as you say, then I bet he feels that way. And I'm sure the two of you will be reunited one day."

Sparky stared at her, stunned by her words. After a minute, a wide smile slowly crossed his face as his mood lifted. "Thanks, Erza. You're absolutely right; I should remain positive that I'll meet up with Dedenne again!"

Erza averted her eyes as a blush adorned her face. Seeing him smile at her like that made her heart flutter, but she quickly shook it off so she could ask him another question. "Before you continue your story, I wanted to ask… is Sparky not your actual name?"

The teen in question let out a small chuckle. "Actually, it's not. My real name is Collin while Sparky is just my nickname," he explicated. "However, I prefer to go by my nickname because…"

* * *

 _It was now the afternoon and, after getting permission from their parents, the four kids and two pokemon were currently hanging out in Aquacorde Town. They'd had their fair share of battling and were now letting Dedenne and Litleo rest._

 _In the meantime, the group of four decided to pass the time by chatting. That was what they were doing when another voice grabbed their attention._

" _Hey, looks like the gang's all here!"_

 _The four turned to see three people approaching them, with three pokemon around them._

 _The first person was a large boy with black hair that stood up and brown eyes. He had on a black T-shirt with a Vanillite on it and orange shorts. At his feet was a crustacean pokemon that resembled a lobster and was mostly red in color while its underside and the lower half of its pincers were cream-colored. It had six legs, three spikes on top of its head, and a blank look in its eyes._

 _The second person was also a boy, who had short, orange hair and gray eyes. He wore a green vest over a white short-sleeved shirt and gray jeans. Perched on his shoulder was a mouse pokemon around Dedenne's height, just a bit taller. It had pale yellow fur and pink cheeks. There was a black patch of fur around its neck that looked like a collar, and the tips of its ears and its tail were also black._

 _The last person approaching was a girl with brown hair in pigtails and brown eyes. Unlike most of the kids, she actually appeared to be around the same age as Collin. She was wearing a red shirt with blue overalls on top. Behind her was a small, blue mouse pokemon that was bouncing on a large, round ball that was part of its tail. Its actual body was around the same size as the ball, and a thin, black zigzag connected the two and completed its tail._

 _The first boy, the one who had initially spoken, spoke up again. "So what's going on?"_

" _Oh, nothing really, Tierno," Shauna answered. "We did have a few mock battles before you guys showed up."_

 _The other brown-haired girl pouted. "Aww, I would have liked to join in on that."_

" _Don't worry, Lyra! We can do it again when Dedenne and Litleo are fully rested!" Collin assured her, making Lyra smile at him._

" _Sounds like a plan, though Tierno says there's something else that needs to be taken care of," the second boy said._

" _Right you are, Trevor! But before we get to that…" He looked down to the pokemon at his feet. "…why don't you go hang out with the other pokemon, Corphish?"_

 _Trevor glanced at his shoulder. "You're welcome to join them if you like, Pichu."_

 _Lyra gazed behind herself. "You too, Azurill!"_

 _The three pokemon in question shouted their respective names happily before heading over to where the Electric/Fairy and Fire/Normal-types were relaxing._

" _So what do you have planned for us today, Tierno?" Xavier inquired. Inwardly, the brown-haired boy was hoping that he wasn't about to propose another dance-off. It wasn't that Xavier didn't like them, but Tierno tended to propose those things_ way _too often._

" _Well, I was thinking… we should totally come up with a nickname for Collin here!" the black-haired boy exclaimed._

 _Collin was surprised. "Huh? Why?" he questioned._

 _Xavier put his hand on the younger boy's head. "Don't sweat it, little bro. Tierno's suggested this for all of us; some of us have accepted and some of us declined. You don't have to accept it if you don't want to."_

 _Collin thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not really opposed to the idea…"_

" _Great! Then let's get started!" Tierno said, much to the blond's bewilderment. "Now for Collin, I was thinking something like 'C-Meister!'"_

" _What? No way!" Shauna protested before Collin could say anything. "I think he's a 'Li'l C' for sure! What do you think, Trevor?"_

 _The orange-haired boy started at being called out abruptly. "Shauna, you shouldn't put people on the spot like that! But… maybe something subtle? Like 'Big C?'"_

 _As the three discussed names, the subject of their conversation just watched with confusion. His two friends not involved in the discussion and his brother stood next to him. "So what do you think?" Serena asked him._

" _I think… I didn't really expect them to jump into this whole nickname thing so enthusiastically," Collin admitted._

 _The blonde giggled as she looked over at the three. "Well, the three of them have nicknames, so they're probably excited that someone else is finally getting one since the rest of us decided against it." She turned back to Collin. "Do you like any of their suggestions? Remember, in the end, it's all up to you."_

 _The youngest boy rubbed the back of his head. "I guess, to be honest… I don't think any of them are a good match for me."_

" _I think they're really funny nicknames!" Lyra giggled._

 _Collin smiled at her briefly before he frowned. "Yeah, but either way, none of those nicknames really feel right for me," he said._

" _How about 'Sparky,' then?" The three of them turned to Xavier, who had made the suggestion. Upon seeing that he had their attention, Xavier went on. "I think that name's pretty fitting for you, considering how energetic you are. Not to mention, you're pretty close to Dedenne, who's an Electric-type," he finished._

 _Collin just gazed at his brother for a few moments, and then he beamed. "Yeah, I think that's perfect! Alright then, from now on, my nickname will be Sparky!"_

 _Xavier and Serena smiled at his enthusiasm while Lyra giggled again._

 _Then the newly dubbed Sparky gained a questioning expression on his face. "Wait, didn't you say that you don't have a nickname either, Big Brother? Why is that?" he inquired._

 _Xavier seemed surprised at his sudden question, but he was quick to give his brother an answer. "Well, I just felt the same way you did. The nicknames they suggested for me didn't feel right, so I decided to forgo the whole nickname thing."_

" _Oh…" Collin trailed off as if lost in thought. After a minute, he perked back up. "I know! Your nickname can be 'Blaze!'"_

 _The three of them were astonished by his suggestion, none more so than the brown-haired boy. Serena was the first to find her voice. "How did you come up with that?" she asked._

" _I just thought about how good he is at the games we play and the other things we do and I figured it was a good way to describe him," the blond elucidated. "In addition to that, he's really close to Litleo, who's a Fire-type. So what do you think, Big Brother?"_

 _Xavier remained silent for a while, and then he chuckled. "I suppose your reasoning makes sense. Very well, Blaze can be my nickname."_

" _Hooray!" Collin cheered. He turned to his three friends who were still conversing with each other. "Guys, did you hear? Xavier and I have nicknames now!"_

 _That broke up their discussion. "Aw, we missed it?" Shauna pouted._

" _So what did you guys decide on?" Trevor questioned._

 _The blond pointed at himself. "I'm now Sparky!" He pointed to his brother. "And he's Blaze!"_

" _Excellent names!" Tierno commented. "Congratulations, Sparky and Blaze!"_

" _Yeah!" Lyra nodded. "Now let's have some mock battles!"_

" _Okay!" Collin agreed._

* * *

"…and that's how I got my nickname. My brother and I gave each other our nicknames," Sparky finished explaining.

Erza was astounded by everything she just heard. She couldn't help but smile. "Your friends sound like an interesting group of people," she remarked.

The trainer beamed. "Yeah, they were. Although everyone was a year older than me; only Lyra was the same age as me." His smile faltered. "However, when I was 8, Lyra and her dad moved to the Johto region. Her dad got a job there, and he figured that she'd also be able to visit her grandparents occasionally since they also lived in Johto."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the redhead said, as she could see that he was clearly unhappy about it.

Sparky shook his head. "Don't worry about it. A year later, Blaze and the rest of our friends were old enough to start their journeys. I was sad at first since that meant I wouldn't have anyone to talk to or hang out with, but I cheered up when I remembered that I still had Dedenne to play with. Plus, I would only have to wait a year before I could start traveling myself."

Then the smile on his face completely vanished. "But then… something happened. There was some kind of accident, and a new trainer got badly injured. Therefore, it was deemed that it was too hazardous for 10 year-olds to be traveling by themselves with creatures as dangerous as pokemon, especially some pokemon that are known to be violent, so a new law was passed. One that stated that a person had to be at least 13 years old before they could start their journey."

Erza was shocked as she listened to him speak.

Sparky continued. "I was devastated. My final year of waiting had been abruptly increased to 4 years of waiting. At first, I did nothing but mope around. But then…" A small smile crossed his face. "After I turned 10, Blaze and all of my friends came to visit me and cheer me up. Even my mom took a temporary break from work to come see me. I was so happy.

"After that, Blaze would come visit me every couple of months, showing off his pokemon and letting me play with them. Then, some time before I turned 11, he told me that he'd be going somewhere. He wouldn't say where, but he did say that he would have a surprise for me when he returned."

"Your brother sounds like a great person. I'd like to meet him," the armored wizard remarked with a smile. "What about the rest of your family?"

"Well, my mom is really sweet. I actually get my looks from her. She works at a big corporation in a different region, so I don't really see her at home too often." Abruptly, his mood turned pensive. "But my father… he didn't care for me."

The blond carried on, despite Erza's stunned look. "He never liked how energetic I was, always saying it was a hassle to deal with. In fact, I think he was the only one who wasn't upset to see me so dejected when that new law was passed. And after I turned 12, I remember overhearing him talking to my mom over the phone, saying that he wasn't sure he could keep dealing with my energy. After I heard that, I decided I didn't want to stick around anymore, so I ran away from home with Dedenne early the next morning."

Erza gasped in shock. "But wasn't that dangerous?" she inquired.

"The road between my hometown, Vaniville Town, and Aquacorde Town is actually totally safe. We don't need to worry about wild pokemon attacking us, which is why our parents allowed us to hang out in Aquacorde so often," Sparky informed her. "But from Aquacorde, trainers start to encounter wild pokemon. Still, I had been fine until I reached the forest between Aquacorde Town and Santalune City, the next town after that."

"What happened there?"

"I was attacked by a wild pokemon. A Beedrill, to be exact." He took a short break from his story to show Erza a picture of Beedrill on his Pokedex. "It was a lot stronger than a pokemon in Santalune Forest should have been, so I suspect it had been released by a Trainer. Dedenne was no match for it, and it looked like I was done for, but then…"

"But then…?" the redhead repeated.

Sparky's smile came back again. "Then Blaze returned and saved me. He easily defeated the Beedrill with a Fire-type pokemon I hadn't seen before at the time. After he made sure I was okay, he asked what I was doing so far away from home, so I told him what I heard my father say. Blaze was upset, of course, but then… he offered to take me with him while he continued traveling. And I accepted."

Hearing this, Erza was surprised. "Was something like that allowed?" she questioned.

The trainer shrugged. "As long as I didn't try to go off on my own or catch or battle pokemon, it was fine. For almost a year, Blaze took me around Kalos. We explored and had tons of fun together, and I got to watch him battle other trainers. I knew I would be turning 13 pretty soon, which meant I would finally be able to start my own journey and catch my own pokemon, and the thought made me really excited."

Abruptly, Sparky frowned. "But… disaster struck. An evil organization known as Team Flare threatened to wipe out all life across the planet. Everyone was supposed to remain indoors for their own safety, but Blaze revealed to me that he had encountered them multiple times throughout the course of his journey and stopped them each time. He told me to stay at the Pokemon Center while he was gone but I refused; I didn't want to sit back while he probably risked his life to save the world. We argued for a bit before he finally relented and took me with him to Team Flare's base."

The scarlet-haired wizard raised a brow. "It sounds like you did a lot of dangerous things before you even started your journey," she commented.

Sparky smiled sheepishly. "I've been told something similar before," he said. Then the smile on his face dropped as he resumed telling his story. "So Blaze defeated any Grunts that tried to stop us, and eventually we made it to their leader, Lysandre, who was the last person standing between us and the weapon. He put up a good fight, but ultimately, Blaze came out on top, which meant that Lysandre should have stood down. Instead, he unleashed the thing that powered his weapon: the Legendary Pokemon known as Yveltal."

"Yveltal?" Erza parroted, gazing at the picture of the pokemon Sparky mentioned as he showed her his Pokedex again. Her eyes widened as she observed the intimidating pokemon.

"Yes. It was extremely dangerous and incredibly powerful, but he needed to stop it to shut down the machine. Three of Blaze's pokemon were out of commission, so he used his remaining three pokemon to combat it. At first, Blaze had been doing pretty well against Yveltal; two of his pokemon had type advantage over it and were able to dish out heavy damage. However, Yveltal seemed to get more aggressive as the battle went on, until it finally used its signature attack to turn the tables by dealing damage and healing itself at the same time."

"Then… how did he stop it? Was he able to…?" Erza questioned, stunned.

Sparky seemed to grow more crestfallen as he recalled the event. "Yveltal looked like it was going to attack Blaze and his pokemon while they were still down. I was afraid of what would happen to them, so… I told Dedenne to attack it. Yet, despite its weakness to Electric-type attacks, it was barely fazed by Dedenne's attack. All I succeeded in doing was turning Yveltal's attention to me. I was terrified."

Erza's eyes widened again, this time in horror. "So what happened to you then?!" she asked worriedly.

"Yveltal charged up another attack and prepared to release it, so I grabbed Dedenne to shield him. However, that turned out to be unnecessary, because once Yveltal launched its attack… Blaze got up and took it instead."

The armored mage gasped.

"He was seriously injured as a result, but despite that, he stood strong and kept on fighting," the blond continued. "His pokemon seemed to emulate that and battled even harder themselves. It took a while, but in the end, they did manage to defeat Yveltal. After that, Blaze shut down the machine and had one of his pokemon carry us out of the building… but he passed out soon afterward."

Erza's gaze softened. "What happened to your brother?"

"His pokemon took him to a hospital, and he was given treatment," Sparky answered. "Unfortunately, the severity of his injuries left him in a coma for a couple of weeks. I visited him a week after the event because I was about to leave for my own journey, but he was still unconscious." He sighed. "He wasn't able to see me off."

"I'm… sorry about what happened to Blaze."

"It's not your fault…" The trainer sighed again. "It was mine."

Erza was caught off guard at his statement. "What?"

"I was the one who insisted on going with Blaze even if I wouldn't have been able to do anything, and I wasn't," Sparky said sadly. "All I did was get in his way, and he ended up getting hurt because of me. And when I passed by the hospital sometime later, I learned that he had already been discharged, yet I haven't heard from him ever since. He clearly doesn't want to see me anymore."

The redhead was silent as she took in everything he said before she reacted by gently placing her hand on his shoulder again. "Sparky… I don't think that's true," she said.

Now it was Sparky's turn to be caught off guard. "What?"

"First of all, I think it's admirable that you wanted to help your brother out however you could, even if there wasn't really much you could've done," Erza complimented, making the trainer blush slightly. "But if you explained everything that happened correctly, then it sounds like you did more than you're giving yourself credit for."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sparky asked, puzzled.

"You said that Yveltal was going to strike Blaze while he was still down, which is why you had Dedenne attack it. Even though Dedenne's attack wasn't enough to harm it, you did successfully distract Yveltal from possibly killing your brother and gave Blaze enough time to recover. So Sparky… it sounds to me that you saved your brother's life just as he saved yours," Erza explicated.

The trainer was once again stunned by what she said, but it was soon replaced with unease. "You say that, but if Blaze felt the same, then why hasn't he spoken to me in 5 years?"

"Based on how you described him, does he sound like the kind of person who could stay mad at you for an extended period of time?"

Sparky didn't have to think hard to answer that. "Well… no," he replied.

The armored mage smiled. "Then I doubt that's the case. If I had to guess, maybe he _has_ been watching over you, even if he never came to talk to you after that event. I think, just like with Dedenne, you should believe that the two of you will eventually reunite, and I'm positive that he'll be able to reassure you when that happens."

At first, Sparky could do nothing but gaze at Erza with slightly watery eyes. Then, to her surprise, he moved forward and enveloped her in a hug. Erza's cheeks burned as the blond's arms wrapped around her. The redhead was unsure of what to do, but then she heard him speak. "Thank you, Erza… This has actually been bothering me for a very long time, so thanks for reassuring me," he said happily.

Erza's cheeks cooled a bit and smiled as she finally returned the hug. "You're quite welcome, Sparky."

The two stayed like that for a while before Sparky pulled back a few seconds later. There was a tint of red on his cheeks as he rubbed his eyes, but he beamed at Erza, which made her cheeks light up slightly as she smiled back.

Then the trainer let out a yawn. "Huh, I guess all that talking tired me out. How about we get some sleep?" he suggested.

"Yes, rest sounds nice," Erza agreed.

And with that, the two got into resting positions. Erza leaned back against the wall while Sparky laid on the ground on his back with his arms behind his head.

"Goodnight, Erza."

"Goodnight, Sparky."

* * *

The next day had finally come, and the three members of Fairy Tail were released and allowed to go back to their guild. One of the three seemed especially enthusiastic about it…

"Man, I never thought fresh air would taste so good!" Natsu shouted gleefully as he ran around breathing fire, much to the annoyance of his guildmates.

This went on for some time until Elfman called out to him. "Natsu! Aren't you going to finish your manly fight with Erza?" he inquired.

His question reminded the Dragon Slayer that their match had indeed been cut short, and now he was itching to get back to it. "That's right, I forgot!" He ran over to where Erza was sitting at a table, drinking tea. "So what do you say, Erza? Wanna finish what we started?"

The scarlet-haired mage didn't even glance in Natsu's direction as she answered. "I'm not in the mood right now."

Natsu apparently didn't care as he ignited his fist and charged at her anyway. "I'm not gonna let you go that easily!"

"Honestly, Natsu…" Erza sighed. Then in one swift motion, she stood up and punched him in the gut so hard that his fire went out and he fell over, nearly unconscious. Everyone gawked at the sight. "There. How's that?"

After registering that that really happened, Gray and Elfman burst out laughing while Lucy stared at Natsu's unmoving body with amusement and worry. Erza paid them no mind, sitting back down in her seat and taking another sip of her tea.

Natsu eventually recovered after a few minutes, groaning as he sat up. "Aw man, I was all fired up, too," he muttered. A moment later, another thought popped into his head, one that made him bolt to his feet and look around the Guild Hall as if searching for someone.

It took a few seconds for the pink-haired teen to find who he was looking for, but he finally spotted him sitting in front of a wall with his eyes closed. Natsu ran over to him and yelled, "Hey, Sparky! Let's fight right now!"

His scream caught the attention of most of the other guild members, and they looked to the blond to see how he would react. However, they were all confused when Sparky didn't react at all. In fact, it seemed as though he didn't even hear Natsu.

"Uh… Sparky?" Natsu tried again.

Lucy walked up to him. "I don't think he can hear you, Natsu. I've seen him in this state before, and it seemed like he couldn't hear when anyone was talking to him," she told him.

"Really?" Natsu said as he stared at Sparky. After a few seconds, a grin formed on his face as his fist was engulfed in flames. "Then I guess I'll have to get his attention a different way!"

The Celestial Mage began to panic. "Natsu wait—!" But it was too late to stop the Dragon Slayer as he threw his fist forward, aiming for Sparky's face.

To everyone's shock, it ended up crashing into the palm of a hand that was covered in blue aura.

The trainer still hadn't moved from his position, but his hand was now raised and currently was gripping Natsu's fist. Then he sighed and opened his eyes. "What is it, Natsu? Can't you see I'm busy right now?" he questioned with irritation.

"Come on, Sparky! Let's fight!" Natsu shouted, ignoring his last question.

Sparky raised a brow as he released Natsu's fist, his irritation replaced with slight confusion. "Right now?"

"Yeah, right now!" Natsu confirmed. "You said that you'd fight me once I knew all six of your pokemon! Well, I do! Pikachu, Greninja, Snorlax, Lucario, Decidueye, and Charizard!"

Sparky's other brow went up. "I'm amazed you actually got all of their names correct," he remarked.

"Whatever! Let's just fight already!"

The trainer sighed again. "You seem pretty impatient, so…" He smirked at the Dragon Slayer. "…I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting."

Natsu looked like he was going to explode with joy. "Yes! I'm fired up now!"

* * *

A few minutes later, the whole guild was outside, surrounding two people who were preparing to fight, just like yesterday. Unlike yesterday, however, one of the two was different.

Many of the guild members were excited to finally see the newest member in action. Those who had already seen him in action (Erza, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Makarov) were just looking forward to seeing him fight again.

Inside the circle, the two combatants were staring at each other with smirks on their faces. "I've been waiting for this ever since you joined the Guild," Natsu said.

"I won't lie, I've been looking forward to this ever since then, too," Sparky admitted. "Let's make this a good match!"

"Are both fighters ready?" Makarov asked.

The two dropped into combat stances. "Ready!" they said in unison.

Gray raised a brow at this. "Sparky's not going to use his Magic?" he wondered.

"Don't worry, Gray." Erza smiled. "Sparky has shown that he's plenty capable without it."

"Then this match may commence!" the Guild Master announced.

Natsu immediately started off by puffing out his cheeks. " **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " he called out as he unleashed a torrent of flames from his mouth.

The trainer didn't even flinch as the flames came his way. "Sorry Natsu, but not good enough!" he commented as he pointed his arm at the attack. A glowing blue barrier materialized in front of him; Natsu's attack crashed into it and was deflected into different directions.

The pink-haired teen was undeterred by this and jumped into the air above Sparky. "Alright then, try to block this! **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!** " he roared, sending a larger wave of fire at his opponent.

Sparky was still unfazed as he made a swiping gesture with his arms, and the barrier suddenly extended into a dome that protected him from the fire. Once the attack ended, he dispelled the dome and put his hands close together. "My turn!" Sparky shouted, gathering aura between his palms and thrusting his arms forward. " **Aura Sphere!** "

Natsu saw the attack coming his way as he dropped from the sky and reacted swiftly. Shooting fire from his feet, he propelled himself out of the way of the blast. Using his momentum, Natsu turned his dodge into a spin as he started to flip head over heels multiple times, coming down on the blond with a flaming axe kick. " **Fire Dragon's Claw!** "

Sparky reacted just as quickly, leaping backward to avoid the blow; Natsu's kick impacted the ground instead. He dashed out of the dust cloud with a flaming fist. " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " the Dragon Slayer yelled as he got closer to Sparky. Yet, to everyone's surprise and confusion, the Aura Guardian made no move to evade him.

"Why isn't Sparky attempting to get out of the way?" Levy wondered.

"He must be planning on taking the hit to show how manly he is!" Elfman exclaimed.

"Somehow I doubt that, Elfman," his sister responded.

Natsu was only about a foot away from Sparky when he suddenly felt something explode against his back, making him stumble forward while his flames went out.

Evidently, this was the moment Sparky was waiting for. As soon as Natsu stumbled, he rushed forward as one of his arms was covered in blue aura. Once he was close enough, he uppercut the pink-haired mage in the chest with his aura-coated fist, sending him sailing a few feet away onto his back.

As Natsu got back to his feet, everybody was left shocked, none more so than Natsu himself. "Okay Sparky, how did you do that?" he demanded.

The trainer smirked. "Oh? How about a repeat performance then?" he taunted, forming another Aura Sphere in his hands. "Now keep your eyes on the ball!" He tossed it at his opponent.

Natsu instinctively jumped into the air to dodge the attack and puffed out his cheeks. However, he remembered what Sparky just told him and looked back down; his eyes widened when he saw the Aura Sphere still coming for him. Changing targets, he released his breath attack at the Aura Sphere instead, causing it to explode.

Natsu landed on the ground safely and gazed at Sparky once more. "Seriously, how are you doing that?!"

The teen being addressed smiled proudly. "My **Aura Sphere** is a projectile that locks on to a target's aura, guaranteed to hit!" he explained.

"…It does what now?"

The smile on his face vanished as a deadpan expression took its place. "It never misses."

"OH!" Natsu's face cleared up with realization as he understood what Sparky was saying. "Why didn't you just say that?"

Sparky's expression didn't change. "I thought I did." Then he smirked as aura surrounded his legs. "Now let's see how you handle this!" He sped forward and appeared in front of Natsu in a matter of seconds with his arm cocked back, catching the Dragon Slayer off guard. Fortunately, he managed to react in time by shooting fire from his feet to flip backwards, avoiding Sparky's punch, which hit and cracked the ground instead.

Once on the ground, Natsu followed up by propelling himself forward while lighting his fist on fire. The aura around Sparky's legs faded away as his arm was encompassed by aura. The blond rushed at his opponent and threw his fist forward, meeting Natsu's flaming fist head-on.

The two seemed to be at a standstill, neither side able to overpower the other. The pink-haired teen was surprised that Sparky was even able to withstand his intense flames like this, but after a few seconds, he smirked. This caught Sparky's attention. "What are you smiling about?" he asked.

"Just that I've got a secret weapon!" Natsu declared. At that, fire burst from his elbow, making Sparky's eyes widen briefly. " **Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!** " With this extra boost, the Dragon Slayer managed to overpower his opponent and nail him in the face, causing Sparky to stumble backwards. Natsu didn't stop there; he puffed out his cheeks and unleashed another attack. " **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

Sparky was still recovering from the punch to the face, so he didn't immediately notice the fire attack coming his way. When he did, his eyes widened. It was too close to dodge and he had no time to block it with a barrier or counter it with an attack of his own, which meant he was left with no other option but to take the hit. Sparky crossed his arms to shield his face as Natsu's roar swallowed him up.

Everybody watched on in shock or worry as the trainer was hit by the attack at such a close range. Once it ended, they were able to get a good look at Sparky, who was currently motionless. Then he lowered his arms, coughed out a bit of smoke…

…and smiled.

Needless to say, everyone was even more shocked. "He got hit by Natsu's **Fire Dragon Roar** at point-blank range and doesn't even look injured!" the Ice Mage exclaimed.

"He really is a real man!" Elfman stated.

"Aye! He must be pretty tough!" Happy chimed in.

Even Erza was impressed. "I wonder just how tough…" she mused.

Sparky rubbed the back of his head. "Wow, Natsu, your fire attacks are really strong! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of another one of those!"

"How come you don't seem hurt?!" the Dragon Slayer demanded.

Sparky laughed in response. "Oh Natsu, do you honestly believe you're the first person to hit me with flames that intense?"

"Well, I did… until you just said that."

"Should he be laughing about something like that?!" Lucy questioned incredulously.

The trainer quieted down as he looked at Natsu. "Sorry, but I've been hit by fire so much that I've built up a tolerance to it," he revealed.

"He's that tough?!" Wakaba exclaimed.

"So Natsu may have some trouble here," Macao noted.

"But still…" Everyone grew silent when Sparky continued to speak. "It's pretty impressive that you actually landed a hit on me." His eyes narrowed. "I may have to start getting serious."

Gray raised a brow. "Does this mean he's finally going to use his Magic?"

His question was answered when a Magic circle appeared underneath Sparky's feet, bathing his form in light. The guild watched with anticipation, wondering what he would turn into; judging by the different-colored seal, it wasn't going to be Greninja. Of course, there were a few people who already knew what pokemon Sparky was planning on using.

The light finally faded and Sparky was finally revealed to the guild… as Pikachu.

The reactions from the girls were instantaneous.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Mirajane cooed.

"What an adorable little creature!" Levy commented.

"Look at its red cheeks!" Cana pointed out.

Lucy smiled. "So he's using Pikachu this time around? Interesting choice. You know, now that I'm getting a good look at him, he does look pretty cute. What do you think, Erza?" she asked, turning to the redhead.

However, Erza was unable to answer the Celestial Mage as her eyes were fixed on Pikachu's form. She had only caught a glimpse of him while they were at Web Valley, so this was her first time really seeing him. Now, she was rendered stiff as a board, with slight trembles rocking her body and cheeks as red as Pikachu's.

" _I must not give in to the urge to pet him!_ " the armored wizard thought as she tried to keep herself in check. " _Even if he does look so cute… and adorable… and soft—No! Get a hold of yourself, Erza!_ "

Lucy sweatdropped as she observed the state Erza was in. "Uh, guess I know how she feels…"

The guys, however, seemed to be of a different mind.

"He wants to fight against Natsu as a rat?!" Macao questioned disbelievingly.

"And here I thought he was about to get serious," Wakaba said with a shake of his head.

"That little thing doesn't look manly at all!" Elfman remarked.

Upon hearing those comments about him, a tic mark appeared on Pikachu's head as a look of annoyance settled on his face.

Natsu seemed to be in agreement with the guys. "Come on, Sparky! I was hoping to fight one of your tougher guys like Charizard or Snorlax! This guy doesn't look like he'll be much of a challenge for me!" he complained.

At that, Pikachu lost his annoyed look and a smirk appeared on his face. "Looks can be deceiving, Natsu," he said, getting down on all fours. "And if you plan on underestimating Pikachu…" A white outline encompassed the pokemon's body. "…then this will be over sooner than you think!" And with that, he shot forward like a bullet fired from a gun.

Before the pink-haired teen could react, Sparky tackled him in the gut with **Quick Attack**. Having been unprepared for the blow, Natsu was sent flying back a few feet and ended up on his stomach. He pushed himself onto his hands and knees and glared at the Electric-type, only for his expression to morph into surprise when he saw that said pokemon was gone.

"Huh? Where'd he…?" Natsu murmured, looking left and right.

"Up here!" Natsu looked up to see Pikachu coming down at him from the air, his tail now appearing to be metallic. " **Iron Tail!** " he called out.

Once again, the Dragon Slayer was too slow to dodge, and the attack slammed down on his head, pushing it into the ground. Sparky backflipped away from Natsu as the latter struggled to pull his head out.

Everyone on the sidelines stared in shock. "Holy crap, he's fast!" Jet shouted in surprise.

"And he must be pretty strong, too!" Droy added.

"I guess he didn't make a mistake with his choice of pokemon to use," Levy said.

"Who knew something so cute could be so badass?" Cana mused.

Eventually, Natsu pulled his head out of the ground. With his sight restored, he glowered at his opponent. "Alright, now I'm mad!" Both of his hands were engulfed in fire and he put them together, creating a large fireball like the one he used against Lullaby. "Take this! **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!** " he roared, throwing it at Sparky.

In response, Pikachu hopped into the air while pointing the tip of his tail downward. Rapidly rotating his entire body like a top, he drilled into the ground with **Dig** while the guild spectated in awe. Natsu's attack hit the ground and exploded; once the smoke cleared, he was able to see how much damage his attack did when all he saw was a hole in the ground.

"What the?!"

"Oh yeah! I remember Sparky used Pikachu to dig under the wind barrier back at Oshibana Station!" the blue cat recalled.

While he wouldn't be able to hit him now, Natsu knew he could still keep track of Pikachu. He closed his eyes and focused on listening for the Mouse Pokemon. Once he heard him start to resurface, he jumped to the side – just in time to avoid getting hit by Sparky.

Without missing a beat, Natsu puffed out his cheeks as he readied his next attack. " **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

Despite missing his target, Pikachu was still able to react in time to counterattack. His cheeks sparked before his body was enveloped in electricity. " **Thunderbolt!** " he yelled, firing a bolt of lightning to intercept the Dragon Slayer's breath attack. The two attacks collided, causing smoke to rise.

As Natsu waited for the smoke to clear, he heard the sound of something crackling. He jumped back just as another bolt of lightning struck the ground where he had been standing. Once he landed on the ground, Natsu was forced to dodge another one.

" _So he can still keep track of me even now,_ " the pink-haired mage thought as he continued to dodge Pikachu's Thunderbolts. " _But… so can I!_ " As soon as there was a pause in Pikachu's attacks, he unleashed a Fire Dragon's Roar in the direction of the last one. Natsu expected to hear him move out of the way, but instead heard the sound of something shimmering.

Wondering what that was, Natsu almost missed the telltale crackling noise of another electric attack coming his way. He leaped back, expecting another Thunderbolt, but was caught shocked, both figuratively and literally, when a web made of electricity burst out of the smoke instead and ensnared him. Natsu yelled in pain as he was trapped in the attack and electrocuted.

Now that the attacks stopped flying, the smoke was able to clear, allowing everyone to see the states of the two fighters; one was standing unscathed while the other was trapped in a sparking web.

"Whoa! What happened in that smoke cloud?!" Wakaba questioned.

"No clue, but it looks like Natsu's in a bind," Macao noted.

While the Dragon Slayer in question struggled to escape the web, Sparky stood nearby with a smirk. "How'd you like my **Electroweb**? It's perfect for immobilizing enemies and dealing damage at the same time!" he stated.

"Well, this won't hold me!" Natsu countered. With a yell, he engulfed his whole body in flames and managed to burn the Electroweb away. Natsu got to his feet, panting. A blue aura briefly surrounded his body before fading away.

Once he finished catching his breath, Natsu glared at his opponent's uninjured state. "I know you didn't dodge my roar; I would have heard you move. So why does it look like my attack didn't hit you?!" he demanded.

Pikachu placed a paw on his face while he pretended to think about his question. "Hm…" Then he smiled at Natsu. "Why don't you try it again and see for yourself?" the pokemon suggested.

"Fine by me!" Natsu declared, his cheeks puffing out for the umpteenth time. " **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

Sparky made no move to dodge or defend against the fire coming his way, and once it reached him, everybody could see why. Right before it could make contact, a purple dome materialized around the pokemon; the flames crashed into it and bounced off, much to the guild's surprise.

"He repelled Natsu's fire!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Man, is there anything he can't do?" Gray questioned.

Once Natsu's attack ended, the dome disappeared, and Sparky smirked at the dumbfounded Dragon Slayer. "That was my **Light Screen**. It's a defensive move that reduces damage taken from ranged attacks," he explicated.

Natsu growled upon hearing that. "Well, if I can't hit you from afar…" His fist ignited and he charged toward Pikachu. "…then I'll just get in close!"

However, as he ran, something seemed off about him. "Is it just me, or does Natsu seem… slower than before?" Erza pondered.

"Hm… it does appear that way," Mira replied.

Natsu himself seemed to notice this as well. " _What the heck? I feel slower for some reason. Could it have been his last attack?_ " he thought. Once he got close enough, the pink-haired teen threw his fist forward.

However, Pikachu dodged his punch with ease by leaping over him and jumping off his shoulder. While in midair, an orb of electricity formed at the tip of his tail. The Mouse Pokemon twisted his body and launched the attack at his opponent. " **Electro Ball!** "

Despite his decreased speed, Natsu managed to react in time. He lifted up his still-flaming fist and aimed it at the Electric-type attack before shooting a torrent of flames. The fire crashed into the ball, creating another cloud of smoke in between them.

Sparky prepared to use another move, but this time he was the one caught by surprise when Natsu burst out of the smoke, fire from his feet propelling him upward. " _He used his flames as boosters to make up for his lowered speed!_ " he thought.

" **Fire Dragon's Claw!** " Natsu shouted, kicking Pikachu into the ground with a flaming foot.

"Whoa, Natsu actually landed a hit on him!" Happy exclaimed.

As Pikachu struggled back to his feet, the Dragon Slayer dove toward him, his arms lighting on fire. " **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!** " He swung his arms down, sending even more fire at the Electric-type.

Now back on his feet, Sparky glanced at the flames heading his way. " **Agility!** " he called out, and he instantly disappeared from where he was standing, reappearing several feet away as if he'd teleported. The flames hit the ground where he had previously been, and the pokemon jumped into the air afterward.

"Did he just teleport?!" Jet cried.

"I don't think so. It's more likely that he just moved too fast for us to see," the blue-haired bookworm reasoned.

Once Natsu landed on the ground, he immediately turned to Sparky's new position and took off. His fist ignited as he prepared to use his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist again.

As Pikachu was falling down, his tail turned to steel as he got ready to use Iron Tail again. As the two were getting closer, Natsu threw his fist forward once Pikachu was within striking range. However, the Electric-type twisted his body at the last second to dodge it and slammed his tail down.

Directly into the ground.

The result was an explosion of dirt that erupted right into Natsu's face, catching him off guard. As he tried to regain his vision, he never noticed Sparky charging up another Electro Ball. He launched it at Natsu, this time scoring a direct hit that threw the pink-haired teen back several feet.

Natsu staggered back to his feet once he was able to see again. He smirked at his opponent. "Not bad, Sparky, but I won't fall for that a second time!" he said, charging forward with another Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.

In order to counter it, the pokemon inhaled and, much to everyone's surprise, breathed out a cold mist. That by itself was astonishing, but they were even more astounded when icicles rained out of the mist and pelted the Dragon Slayer, who put his arms out to defend himself.

"Have a taste of my **Icicle Crash!** " Sparky said.

"No way! He can use ice, too?!" the dark blue-haired teen shouted in shock.

Natsu growled as the ice kept hitting him. "Do you really think this will be able to stop me?" he yelled, expelling fire from his entire body and melting the ice attacking him. The heat from the fire reached the mist as well and made it dissipate.

"Nope, that was just a distraction!" Sparky revealed as his body was encompassed in a twinkling blue light. " **Meteor Mash!** " He charged forward at an incredible speed as a blue aura surrounded him next, smashing into Natsu's gut with immense force before pushing him into the ground, causing an explosion.

After a few seconds, Pikachu jumped out of the smoke and gazed at it steadily. As he did so, a red aura appeared around him before disappearing just as quickly. As the smoke was clearing, his body glowed white, and a light shot out and into the sky, leaving the guild to wonder what that was.

Not long after, the rest of the smoke was blown away by the irate pink-haired mage. His entire body was now engulfed in flames. "Okay Sparky, let's see you deal with this!" Natsu crouched before launching himself headfirst at Pikachu like a rocket. " **Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!** " he yelled.

Rather than try to dodge the attack, the Electric-type charged at Natsu head-on. "Now what is he planning?" Cana wondered.

"Yeah, there's no way he'll be able to stop Natsu like that," Elfman stated.

They got their answer when a thick cloak of electricity enveloped the Mouse Pokemon and he appeared to get faster. All that could be seen of him through the lightning was a black outline of his body. "Take this, Natsu! **Volt Tackle!** " he called out.

The two collided into each other head-on, eliciting an enormous explosion. Within the resulting smoke, the two fighters were sent sliding backwards on their feet in opposite directions. When the smoke cleared, everybody saw that both Natsu and Pikachu were breathing heavily; electricity crackled around the latter's body and made him wince. The pokemon's body had burn marks on it while Natsu's sparked occasionally.

The two stared each other down for a few seconds as they tried to catch their breath until Sparky suddenly smirked, confusing Natsu. "Huh? What's so funny, Sparky?" he inquired.

"Oh, nothing," the pokemon replied. "But it should be ready now." That left Natsu even more perplexed, but before he could ask what he was talking about, something in the air got his attention. Looking up, the Dragon Slayer saw a light coming down from the sky. The light covered Pikachu's body, and to everyone's astonishment, most of his injuries began to vanish.

"Wow! He can heal himself as well?" Mirajane marveled.

"I guess defeating him will be tougher for Natsu than we thought," Macao said.

Pikachu stretched his arms. "Ah, that feels refreshing!" he said cheerfully, disregarding Natsu's stupefied expression.

"What the heck?! You can heal yourself, too?!" Natsu shouted in disbelief.

"Yep! That was a move called **Wish**. It restores my health, but not completely, and it takes some time to charge up," the Electric-type explained. "And with that done…" He took a moment to examine the state Natsu was in. "I believe it's time to move on to the second phase of my strategy."

"Wait, he actually had a plan in place for fighting Natsu?" Lucy asked in surprise.

Gray shrugged. "Well, that makes sense. He _is_ pretty smart. After all, he's the one who came up with the plan to defeat Lullaby."

The redhead's eyes widened slightly as she recalled that. " _Lullaby… Sparky did come up with a plan then. Does he intend to do something similar now?_ " she wondered.

Suddenly, the pokemon's body let off a bright flash; once it died down, Sparky could be seen in human form.

"You're changing pokemon?" Natsu questioned. He'd had a big advantage as Pikachu, what with his incredible speed and varied arsenal, so the Dragon Slayer found it strange that Sparky would want to switch now.

The trainer smirked in response. "Oh, yeah." Right after he said that, a seal appeared under his feet. After the ensuing transformation, Sparky now stood in front of the guild as Charizard.

Their reactions were understandable.

"DID HE JUST TURN INTO A DRAGON?!" they screamed in shock, fear, and awe. Other things were said, but that was most prevalent.

As the members who knew about Charizard worked to calm down those who didn't, Natsu looked ecstatic. "Woo-hoo, alright! Charizard's the one I wanted to fight the most! I'm fired up now!" Without wasting any more time, he charged forward as he engulfed his fist in flames. " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** "

Charizard braced himself as the pink-haired teen got closer; his claws glowed green and extended as he activated Dragon Claw. Once Natsu threw his fist forward, the pokemon reached out and caught it.

As the two remained at a standstill, Natsu caught sight of the Flame Pokemon's flaming tail swishing behind him and got excited. "Oh boy! I could use a little snack right now!" he said happily. Natsu then inhaled deeply, his lungs slowly sucking the fire from Charizard's tail like a vacuum.

A brief look of panic settled on the pokemon's face, something only Erza and Makarov took note of, before his expression hardened. Throwing his tail back as far as he could, green scales formed and covered it entirely. " **Dragon Tail!** " he shouted, harshly slamming his tail into Natsu's midsection and sending him sailing several feet away.

It took a bit longer than the previous times, but the Dragon Slayer managed to get onto his feet. He glared at his opponent. "Come on, man! Couldn't you have waited until I finished my snack?"

Sparky said nothing at first, simply gazing at Natsu. After a few seconds passed, he smirked. "Natsu, if you wanted to eat, you could've just asked," Charizard replied, earning a look of surprise from the pink-haired mage. "I'll serve you up a nice meal." He opened his mouth and shot a fireball at Natsu. " **Flame Burst!** "

The move greatly surprised everyone, not because Sparky used it, but because at this point, he should know what would happen next.

Natsu's surprise lasted a second before a grin nearly split his face. "Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed. He took a deep breath, drawing the fire to him and down his throat. He exhaled and looked at the Fire/Flying-type with anticipation. "Got anymore?"

Charizard's expression almost mirrored the Dragon Slayer's. "Still hungry, huh? I can fix that." Rearing his head back, he unleashed a torrent of flames from his mouth, similar to Natsu's breath attack. " **Flamethrower!** "

Unsurprisingly, the end result was exactly like the first attempt: all the fire heading for Natsu was sucked into his mouth and devoured. The pink-haired teen let out a satisfied sigh before grinning at Sparky again. "Thanks for the meal, Sparky!"

"I don't understand. Why is Sparky attacking Natsu of all people with fire?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, he knows just as well as anyone else here that Natsu can eat fire to restore his magic. So why is he still using it?" Happy wondered.

"He must have something in mind," Gray reasoned, though he was just as mystified as everyone else.

Erza was thinking something similar. " _Sparky's seen firsthand that Natsu can eat fire to restore his magic. He has to have a different reason to use it against him, but what could it be?_ " she thought.

"Well, I've got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out!" Natsu shouted. "Prepare yourself, Sparky!" With that, he yelled out as his entire body lit on fire. He launched himself forward once more. " **Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!** "

Natsu was coming in hot, but unlike before when he had run forward to meet him, Sparky simply remained stationary, not moving a bit. The whole guild was utterly perplexed at the pokemon's actions; it seemed like he wanted to get hit.

A few seconds later, Charizard got his wish. Natsu reached him and crashed headfirst into his torso, eliciting a pained grunt from the pokemon. The Dragon Slayer's attack continued to push Charizard back, his feet skidding against the ground.

However, after another few seconds, the Flame Pokemon grit his teeth and dug his feet into the ground, slowly coming to a stop with Natsu still pressed against his gut. As the flames dissipated, Sparky couldn't help but smirk as he said just one word.

"Gotcha."

He followed up by grabbing Natsu by his shoulders and spinning him around so that his back was pressed against the pokemon's stomach. Before Natsu could do anything to get away, Charizard wrapped his arms across his chest, effectively keeping the Dragon Slayer from escaping.

"Hey! What the heck are you doing?!" Natsu demanded, struggling to break Charizard's hold.

Sparky smirked and said, "Taking you for a ride," before spreading out his wings.

At that moment, Erza's eyes widened as she finally figured out what Sparky had been planning.

With a flap of his wings, Charizard shot into the air, taking the protesting Dragon Slayer with him. "Put me back on the ground, Sparky!" He was starting to feel queasy, his stomach growing more unsteady by the second.

"If that's what you want, then I'll be happy to oblige!" the pokemon responded. He proceeded to spin around like a top, getting faster and faster as he continued to climb higher. Once he reached his peak, he abruptly turned around in midair and started heading back down, spinning even more rapidly.

At this point, Natsu's face was starting to turn green and he was no longer able to make coherent sounds. When the Flame Pokemon was close to the ground, he threw his opponent down, yelling, " **Seismic Toss!** " The Dragon Slayer impacted the ground hard and created a large dust cloud while Charizard landed shortly after, changing back to Sparky.

The blond glanced back at the crater that formed from Natsu's rough landing. Inside, the pink-haired mage lay on his back, his face completely green as he was thoroughly motion sick. Coupled with his injuries from all of the fighting he had done, he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon.

Sparky smirked. "Charizard's finishing move, **Seismic Toss**. This match is over," he stated matter-of-factly.

Makarov stepped forward and, after examining Natsu's condition, gestured to Sparky. "Natsu is unable to battle. Sparky is the victor of this fight!"

* * *

After the fight ended, pretty much all of the guild members had rushed over to congratulate Sparky on his win and compliment his two pokemon that fought. It made the trainer feel slightly overwhelmed, as he'd never had this many people congratulate him after a battle. Still, he couldn't help but feel happy, and he could feel that his pokemon were pleased as well.

Sometime after the fight, Natsu had finally recovered, and naturally the first thing he did was challenge Sparky to a rematch. Sparky reminded him of what just happened, which was enough to make him back off.

Now Sparky was sitting at the bar with Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Happy. Makarov sat atop the counter while Mirajane was doing her job behind it. The wizards were questioning their newest member about some of the things that happened in the fight.

"Hey Sparky, where did you get your Pikachu?" the cat inquired.

The blond smiled as he recalled how it happened. "It was during my journey through the Hoenn region. In that region, there are these things you can participate in called contests. In a contest, you're supposed to present your pokemon off and make it look dazzling while also performing some routines with their moves. I took part in one, and although I didn't win, a man watching the contest was so impressed with my performance that he gave me Pikachu as a gift. However, he wasn't an ordinary Pikachu."

"What was different about your Pikachu?" Gray asked.

"He was able to learn 6 attacks that Pikachu are normally unable to learn," Sparky revealed. "You guys saw two of them today: **Icicle Crash** and **Meteor Mash**."

"Wow! That sounds amazing!" Lucy remarked.

"It was!" Sparky agreed. "However, in order to use each move, Pikachu had to wear a costume. We trained enough that he doesn't need to anymore, though."

"What about those red and blue auras we saw surround both you and Natsu?" Mira questioned.

"Those auras indicated that a target's stat either went up or down," the trainer explained. "When someone gets hit by **Electroweb** , it causes their Speed to go down."

"So that's why I got slower!" Natsu realized.

"That's right. Meanwhile, a pokemon using Meteor Mash has a chance to increase their Attack stat when successfully executed," Sparky elucidated.

"And I'm guessing that powered up your last attack then," Erza speculated as she thought back to Pikachu using Volt Tackle. Of course, thinking of this made her think of the small Electric-type in general, and she couldn't help the blush that settled on her face.

"That's right!" Sparky confirmed, the blinked in confusion when he took in Erza's appearance, namely her red face. "Erza, are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine!" the armored mage stuttered. "So, the strategy you used to defeat Natsu… it was the same one you came up with when we fought Lullaby, wasn't it?"

Sparky flashed a bright smile at her. "Right again, Erza! Pretty perceptive of you to figure it out!" His words, along with his smile, made Erza's blush deepen. Fortunately for her, he had turned away, so he didn't see it.

"Well, I understand you using the same strategy, but why did you keep on using fire on Natsu when you knew that he could eat it?" Lucy asked.

"It's because I know that he can eat fire that I used it," Sparky answered, confusing the mages. "I knew that if I attacked Natsu with fire, he would eat it. And, as I've known Natsu since my first day on Earthland, I was also aware of his glaring weakness: motion sickness. I wanted it to hit him full force so that he'd have no chance of recovering!"

His response stunned the Fairy Tail members gathered; they hadn't realized he would have thought of something like that.

"Whoa, so you took advantage of Natsu's greatest strength in order to exploit his worst weakness," Happy stated, and the trainer nodded in response while the Dragon Slayer grumbled at that.

"That reminds me, about Charizard…" Everyone turned to look at the Guild Master as he finally spoke up. "I noticed that you looked panicked when Natsu tried to eat the fire at the tip of his tail. Is there something special about it?"

They turned back to Sparky as they awaited his answer, especially Erza as she too had noticed his panic. Sparky let out a short chuckle. "Yeah, that's something I should have mentioned to you guys sooner," he confessed. Then, to their surprise, a serious expression crossed his face. "Charizard's life force is actually connected to that flame at the tip of his tail. If that fire goes out… he dies."

Everyone was utterly shocked to hear that. "Whoa… I had no idea, Sparky. I'm sorry for trying to eat it," the pink-haired teen said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault, Natsu," the blond reassured him. "You didn't know, and like I said earlier, I should have told you before. Besides, nothing bad happened; we're all good!" Sparky's upbeat mood cheered up the other members, and they all smiled at his blithe attitude.

Just then, out of nowhere, Makarov slumped forward slightly. "Master? Is there a problem?" the white-haired barmaid asked with concern.

"I'm alright, just feeling a bit tired…" he responded. His eyes narrowed slightly. "He's coming."

Before Sparky could ask who Makarov was talking about, Mirajane then let out a yawn and suddenly slumped to the floor, fast asleep, much to his and Lucy's shock. The Guild Master, however, didn't even flinch.

"Mira?! What's wrong?! Guys, what happened to—?" Sparky paused in his questioning when he noticed that everybody in the Guild, excluding Makarov, had started to look sleepy and was now falling over.

"Not again…" Gray muttered as he fell over.

Lucy's head hit the counter as her eyes drooped. "What's… going on…?"

"You guys… what's…" the trainer trailed off as it finally started to hit him as well, and he slumped against the wooden surface.

As everyone slumbered, a lone figure entered the Guild, walking past all of the sleeping members. He walked up to Makarov before he stepped over to the Request Board. "Mystogan…" the old man greeted.

The newcomer said nothing in return, simply plucking a job request off of the board and walking back over to the Guild Master. But before he could say anything, Sparky suddenly shot up, wide awake, much to the other two's astonishment.

"Master! I think we're under attack!" he shouted frantically. Then he caught sight of Mystogan and his eyes narrowed. "That must be him!" He put his hands together as aura started gathered in between them.

"Wait, Sparky! He's not an enemy!" Makarov said hurriedly, making Sparky stop his attack. "This here is one of the Guild's members, Mystogan."

"Mystogan…" he repeated as he took in his appearance. Now that he wasn't trying to attack the newcomer, Sparky could sense that he actually wasn't a bad person. But that still begged the question… "If he's a member of the Guild, then why did he put everyone to sleep?"

Mystogan remained quiet for a few moments before he finally answered. "I do not wish for my guildmates to see my face."

Sparky tilted his head in confusion. He wanted to press the matter further but decided against it; it seemed personal for him.

"Mystogan, this is our newest member, Sparky," Makarov introduced.

Mystogan inspected the teen in front of him. "How come my Sleep Spell isn't affecting you?" he inquired.

The blond blinked before he held up a hand covered in aura. "My aura protects me from those kinds of negative effects, so putting me to sleep won't work," he answered.

"I see," the man said. He faced the Guild Master and showed him the request. "I shall return."

"Wait, lift your sleeping spell before you go," Makarov told him.

Mystogan treaded toward the door, counting down from five as Makarov and Sparky watched him go. After he said one, he vanished out the door, and everybody's eyes popped open as they woke up—with the exception of Natsu.

The guild members and rubbed their eyes as they soon became aware of what just happened. "Aw man, was Mystogan here?" Jet asked.

"What a jerk…" Droy remarked with annoyance.

"Does he have to put us to sleep every time he comes here?" Levy said.

"Who's this Mystogan guy?" Lucy questioned.

Elfman answered her question. "He's a contender for the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but for some reason, he doesn't want anybody to see what he looks like," Gray told her. "So when he comes to take a new job, he casts a sleeping spell on everyone."

"That's kind of creepy!" the blonde stated.

Gray gestured to the Guild Master as he continued. "Master Makarov is the only person here who's gotten a good look at him."

"That's not true. _I've_ seen him before," a new voice spoke up. Everyone turned to the voice and saw a blond-haired man in a fur coat with a condescending smirk on his face. "And our newest member got a good look as well."

"Really, Sparky?" Erza asked, to which the trainer nodded, though he had a frown on his face.

Everybody was shocked at this guy's appearance. "Laxus!" Elfman exclaimed.

"Talk about rare," Macao commented.

"You're never here!" Wakaba agreed.

"And that would be another contender," the Ice Mage said to Lucy.

"Mystogan's just a bit shy, so you guys should respect his privacy," Laxus said patronizingly as he continued to smirk down at them.

Upon hearing his voice, Natsu finally woke up and jumped to his feet. "Alright Laxus, let's fight right now!" he challenged.

"Getting beaten up twice in one day wasn't enough for you?" Gray questioned.

"Yeah, Natsu. If you can't win against the redhead or even the new guy, then why would you even try challenging me?" Laxus said.

The redhead in question grit her teeth as she glowered at the blond man. "What exactly are you implying with that?" she asked. Sparky said nothing, though the frown on his face got deeper as he narrowed his eyes at the man.

Laxus spread his arms out. "I'm saying that I'm the strongest wizard in the Guild!" he declared.

"Why don't you come down here and prove it?" the pink-haired teen hissed.

"You come up here, little man," Laxus retorted.

"With pleasure!" Natsu leaped onto the counter and prepared to jump up, but he was stopped by Makarov slamming his giant fist onto his body.

"You're not allowed on the second floor, Natsu! Not yet, at least," the old man reprimanded.

Laxus chuckled, never losing his smirk. "Ooh, I think you made him grumpy."

Natsu struggled to get out from underneath Makarov's fist. "Shut up!"

"That's enough out of you, Laxus!" Makarov commanded.

Despite the warning, the blond man went on anyway. "The most powerful person in the Guild isn't a chick or some hooded weirdo. You want to know what the strongest wizard looks like?" He pointed to himself. "You're looking right at him!"

His words earned him glares from many of the members, but then someone spoke up. "Is he invisible, then? I only see you."

That comment finally made him drop his smirk. "What was that?!" He instantly zeroed in on the person who said that, which happened to be none other than Sparky.

"You claim to be the strongest person in the guild, but from where I'm standing, all I see is the cockiest," the trainer said.

"Sparky…" Erza said in warning, yet he didn't even glance in her direction, eyes fixed solely on Laxus.

Laxus jumped down from the second floor and landed in front of Sparky, glowering at him. "You better watch what you say there, you little punk. You may have beat Natsu in a fight, but that doesn't mean you stand a chance against me," he threatened.

Sparky met his gaze, unwavering. "Is that supposed to scare me? I met plenty of people as cocky as you, so don't think you can intimidate me," he retorted.

Laxus growled. Slight sparks coursed around his body as it seemed like he would attack, but then Makarov's voice cut in. "That enough, you two! Stand down!"

The two blonds glared at each other for a moment longer before Laxus let out a huff, then turned around and walked off. Neither of them said anything, while the rest of the guild breathed in relief. No one wanted to see that turn into a fight.

* * *

The sun had gone down, and now almost everyone had left the guild hall. The only people still left there were Mirajane, Lucy, and Sparky.

"Hey Mirajane, can I ask you something?" the Celestial Mage spoke up, getting the barmaid's attention. "What was the Master talking about earlier? Why can't we go up to the second floor?"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that, too," Sparky admitted. "Is there something up there that we can't see?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Mira responded. "See, that area is reserved for advanced members of the guild. Compared to the jobs on the Request Board up there, the jobs down here are practically child's play."

"Seriously?" the trainer asked in astonishment.

"Yeah. They're called S-Class quests."

"S-Class?" Lucy parroted.

"They're jobs so dangerous that one last move could be your last," the white-haired woman explained. "But with that risk comes a higher reward."

"Wow, that sounds pretty cool," Sparky remarked. "How do you become S-Class?"

"Master Makarov picks the wizards he thinks can handle jobs like these himself. Currently, there are only 5 S-Class wizards in the whole Guild, including Laxus, Mystogan, and Erza," Mira told them.

Sparky's eyes widened. "Erza's an S-Class wizard? I've seen her fight before but I didn't know she was on that level. She really is amazing." He thought about how Mira had also mentioned Laxus. " _If he's S-Class, then there's no doubt that he's powerful. I may not be at his level yet._ "

Mirajane smiled at them. "I wouldn't worry about it. If you ask me, there's no amount of money that's worth risking your life over."

Lucy smiled, too. "Yeah, you're right about that."

A few minutes later, Mira finished her work, and she and Lucy both bid Sparky goodnight as the two left for their respective homes. The blond remained where he was seated as he thought about the events of his day.

The last thing he thought about was the topic that he was just discussing with Mira. " _S-Class wizards, huh?_ " He smiled as he stood up and headed for the door to take his routine walk before going to sleep. " _I guess I know what to strive for next in this guild._ "

* * *

 **And done! Finally, it's finished! I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; I made it super long!**

 **The main reason this chapter took so long to write was that the first part was just really hard for me to work out for some reason. So as you all can see, Sparky did indeed have a brother. Will he appear in this story? Who knows? You'll have to wait and see!**

 **Also, yes, his real name is not actually Sparky; that's just a nickname. How many of you guessed that?**

 **I'm not sure I mentioned this before, but much of Sparky's journeys are based off of the games. So yes, his friends are all the player's friends from the X/Y games and I added some dialogue from them as well. I hope I did a good job considering I, unfortunately, still haven't had a chance to play those games. I also threw Lyra in for fun and for a reason that will be revealed in the future if you haven't already figured it out.**

 **I had planned on writing a third flashback, this one being Blaze's fight against Yveltal, but I decided against it. This chapter was already taking too long to write.**

 **I did my best to give Sparky an original background. Only his dad doesn't like him; his mom is just not around often which is why he ran away from home.**

 **Also, gasp! Sparky has a seventh pokemon that is not with him! As I'm sure you've all guessed by now, Dedenne is Sparky's real starter pokemon, not Greninja.**

 **I hope you guys liked all of the ErzaxSparky moments I put in the chapter! I'm not good at writing romance, so I hope I didn't go overboard.**

 **I really hope you guys enjoyed the fight between Natsu and Sparky! I put a lot of work into it! Even before I started writing this story, I was already planning out how the fight would go, so I hope I don't disappoint!**

 **How many of you were expecting Sparky to be immune to Mystogan's sleeping spell? He's not immune, per se, but he can use his aura to rid himself of those kinds of effects. Keep that in mind, it'll be important in the future! Also, Sparky meets Laxus for the first time, and of course, it's not a pleasant meeting for either one of them.**

 **Well, that should be everything. I'll be closing the poll after I post this chapter. It looks like the winner of the poll is Ice God Slaying Magic! As I said in the poll, the character won't be appearing for a very long time, but expect them to show up in the future!**

 **With this done, I'll be going back to working on RWBBY – The Shapeshifter. It's been a while since I touched that story. I'll also be working on Chapter 2 of Reality Checkers: Tales of the Senshi. If you haven't read either of those stories, go ahead and do so!**

 **Okay, time for my story recommendations:**

 **Generations (NEW Peace Sign) by Komod0-Sensei – This is an amazing My Hero Academia fanfiction where Izuku get a lot of training done prior to his first time meeting All Might. Seriously, this story is awesome; go check it out!**

 **Pinnacle by I Ate Your Muffin – A pokemon AU where Ash sets out on his journey with Charmander. This story features a stronger and smarter Ash, and it's really good! You guys should definitely read it!**

 **A Hero's Will and Ambition by I Ate Your Muffin – Another My Hero Academia fanfiction. In this one, Izuku actually has a Quirk: the ability to use Haki from One Piece. This story is so spectacular that it's the second most popular My Hero Academia fanfiction on the site! Go read it for yourselves!**

 **Well, that's everything. Remember to favorite, follow, and review this story! Sparky D., out!**


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